Be My Slave
by XO Loki's Angel OX
Summary: AU. This is a Zeref X Natsu story. Rated M for language and it's lemoniness. :B Zeref is shipped off and is bought as a slave, and with the smell of blood now driving him constantly mad, who would be willing to save him? Natsu, that's who.
1. Ignorant Children and Pain

**Be My Slave**  
**By: LOKI'S ANGEL! (ME) :3 :3**

**WARNING- M for Mature content. Such as foul language, blood, gore (it probably won't be that bad though), sexual themes, yoai and so on and so forth**

**This is going to be a Zeref X Natsu story. So far I do not know if it will be yoai or not between the two characters, but there will be yaoi. Trust me 3 lol**

**Anyway please enjoy and review! **

**Chapter 1: Ignorant Children and Pain**

I've lived my life for what seems like hundreds of years. I thought I had seen it all. Blood. Chaos. War. The cries of my fellow peers screaming at the tops of their lungs, _SAVE US!_ _God save us!_

But, I had known by then: there was no god. He wasn't going to save us. No one was going to save us. We were trapped in this hell hole. We wanted independence, and hell we weren't going to get it without a fight. But, what about the rest of us? Who was going to stand up for the smaller people? I sure hell wasn't going to. I couldn't. No one would listen to a _child_. "You're just a kid. Go home and play with sticks or something," they would always tell me. The _adults_ that is.

But then, I would see them blow up before my eyes. Body parts flying overhead, blood splattering across my chest. And all I would do is turn around and walk away. Not even the twitching hand would startle me any more.

I became very anti-social at my school. The war was scaring everyone lifeless, but they still refused to close school because 'we need to learn about the rest of the world'. We are learning about them. The next country over is less than 20 miles south of this pathetic town, and not only they have raided our lands, but so have the rest of the bordering countries. And I talk to them every other day. That's how I earned my food and water. Beg for them to spare your life. It wasn't always that way though. My parents were alive about five months ago. They used to supply everything, but then they were killed off in the first raid of our town. It's now a base and some stupid military guy teaches us the ways of their culture. It was annoying at first, but now I just really don't care any more.

Did I mention I was only 10?

* * *

But, that little slice of heaven didn't last long. The "peace" is what they called it. A new force had snuck it's way through their defenses, and now everyone was running for their lives. But, why? There was no where _to_ run. Maybe to a corner of the room, but they would find you. They would always find you. Some even tried to hide underneath the desks in school. What were they trying to do? Play peek-a-boo with the soilders with huge guns? Good luck.

I only sat patiently in my desk while all the _adults_ went around and found the hiding children. Only one man noticed me, and I only him. He had a long beard, and was very wrinkly because of old age, and he wore a kind look on his face, but his eyes lied. They couldn't hide the evil behind his dark pupils. None of the adults could. "Hello son. What's your name?" he greeted, his voice very deep, and it had an unusual upbeat tone to it.

I never did like the name my parents gave me, so I gave the name I thought would truly benefit my personality, "My name is Zeref sir."

He gave a cheeky smile, holding out a hand. "A pleasure in meeting you Zeref. You may call me General, or Hades if you would like."

"Can I call you bastard?" I asked curiously. He did look a lot like the man the soldiers and guards would always describe in their conversations while on duty. The man gave a hearty laugh.

"Why would you want to do that? I don't call you shithead, do I?"

"I wouldn't care. I go by many names here." I said, shrugging. "None offend me any." Hades stared at me thoughtfully.

"You're a little on the cocky side. Aren't ya?"

"You're a little on the murderous side, aren't ya?" I remarked bitterly. I could see one of the soldiers in the corner of my eyes hitting a child over the head with a club.

"Well, I don't see it as murder. I see it as them being too weak." He turned his head towards the man I had seen. "Hold down your arm soldier." he called out, and instantly the man stopped. The child was a smaller girl in my class who wore a broken pair of glasses, and always wore her hair up in pig tails. Her hair was now matted with blood, and her glasses laid smashed on the floor. "Take her to the doctor. She needs to be healthy for the shipment."

"Where are you sending her?" I asked curiously, my eyes carefully piercing the general in his back.

"It's not just her Zeref. Everyone is going to a better place."

"You're not talking about heaven, are you?"

"No. I find that heaven doesn't exist." he replied walking up to the chalkboard. "Neither heaven or hell exist. Just the ground we step on." He picked up a piece of chalk and with smooth letters, he wrote out **Go Burn in Hell**. "But, I do believe there can be places that exist on Earth that are equal or greater to hell."

Just then a blunt object came in contact with my head, sending me to the floor and into unconsciousness.

* * *

My head hurt like none other. It felt as though it was going to be cracked open like an egg. When I attempted to open my eyes, I saw nothing. Just darkness.

But heard the creepiest of sounds yet. The sound of moaning children with the sound of very loud creaking. It was like I was being haunted by zombies. But, even zombies would be better than these crying kids. Even the ones older than me were crying. Babies.

My eyes hurt, but not as much as my head. I attempted to sit up, but there was no room. I ended up elbowing several other kids in order to get a decent amount of space to sit up. I could feel we were in something made of wood. It was probably a box. "I wanna go home!" cried out one of the boys nearby.

"We aren't going back." I replied, hoping that the kids would just shut up.

"Nuh-uh! Daddy is going to save us!" cried out a girl around the same area.

"Sure, get your hopes up. But, don't blame me when your _daddy_ doesn't came crashing in here and whisk you away before the soldiers do."

"What makes you say that?" one of the older boys asked.

"I talked to the general himself. He says we're going to a hell that's on earth. Not my problem though. I don't care."

"you're just saying that because you have no parents!" cried the same little girl.

"Sure, believe what you want to believe. I really don't care." I hugged my knees, placing my chin on them. "At least I know my parents aren't coming for me."

After that, the box remained silent. I knew that would believe me, but I knew that little girl and boy were probably arguing to themselves on who was really right; Me or their beliefs. Probably their beliefs. I mean, they believe in god.

The box began to shake. Sometimes it would jump a little, and everyone would hit one another, but other than that, it was silent.

It was really relaxing. This was the quietest they have ever been in their lives. I would laugh, but than that would ruin the pleasure of enjoying the silence.

What seemed like hours of doing absolutely nothing but listening to the clanking noises outside the box, the jostling stopped. Voices outside the box were chatting it up, talking about something I couldn't comprehend. But, then the box began to shake again, but not as heavily as it once was. Suddenly it came to a complete stop again and a loud cracking noise came from the right. I apparently wasn't the only one who noticed because then everyone started heading to the left of the box and crowd the corners again. _Oh, that's a smart place to hide. They'll _never_ spot you there._

With another loud crack, the whole right side of the box fell off with a loud crash, blinding us all. It was completely dark outside. The inside of the box was darker than the street though. The flame lanterns hung low around a huge corral. Two men peered inside the box, one of them being Hades. "Hey boy, have a nice ride?" he greeted. I quickly stood up, and crawled out of the box and onto the hard earth.

"It was very silent."

"Sorry we couldn't offer much entertainment." he said sarcastically before looking back into the box.

"No. It was perfect." I replied, crossing my arms and looking around the corral. "It was a nice change. They should shut up more often." Hades chuckled before nodding at the other man.

"C'mon now. All child'n file out of da box. Do it, or else you'll be catchin' up wit ol' Mista Club." I shivered. That man's English was horrible. Oh well. It's hard to cure stupidity.

I walked towards the corral where there was metal chains attached to the walls. The corral was actually about 8 ft, into the ground so the children couldn't climb out of they wanted to escape. I had an uneasy feeling, so nonchalantly I attempted to backup and run as far away as I could from this place. Unfortunately I backed into the wrong general. "Nice place isn't it? Hopefully you won't have to stay here that long. I only brought enough supplies to last ya three days." He grabbed the back of my shirt and dragged me to the nearest piece of wall, there he was quick to grab my wrists and handcuff me to the chain.

"What the hell are you doing!" I cried out, attempting to free myself. I yanked so hard on the chain the metal began to cut through my skin, and a small amount of blood began to trickle from my wrists.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Hades said, turning to watch the other children being tied up with the same fate. "We don't want ya losing too much blood. We need you to sell."

"What!" I exclaimed. I felt the blood begin to boil in my veins. "You mean we're going to be slaves!" Suddenly the other children began to cry out too.

"You can't do that! It's illegal!"

"I want momma!"

"What the hell! You can't sell us! We're children!"

But, most of the cries were ones of pain.

Suddenly a loud crack rang out, silencing all of us. Not even a sniffle. We turned to Hades' henchman who stood with a greedy look on his face. He poked some children with the whip before Hades ordered him to leave. Pedo.

"Listen here!" Hades called out to the children. "Tomorrow is a big day for all of you. Tomorrow, some of you will be going to loving families, better ones than the ones in your old home." The glanced down at each single child deep within their eyes. "Some of you on the other hand might be sold as slaves, ranch hands, sex slaves, or whatever 'horrible' reasoning. To you, I bid you farewell and good luck. Others, well, let's just hope you survive." As he turned he stared me down, his dark eyes dancing with laughter. "See you Zeref. I hope you have the better luck." And with that, he walked out, and the gate was closed.

We were stranded between a rock and a hard place. And no one was getting out of here anytime soon.

* * *

I could hear the whimpers of the others. Some were crying while others were praying to god. Someone will probably save us, but it wasn't going to be the reincarnation of one of the 'holy spirit' or whatever terminology these kids use. I just wanted to get out of here.

Time passed slowly, and not soon enough, the sun rose, and slowly the surroundings were un-cloaked with the bright orange and pink lights.

We were in a large city, and people were already bustling and surrounding the corral. I could hear some of the women exclaim how cute one boy or girl was, and then men comparing the size of the boys to see which boy could work harder on their farm. It was disgusting. I mean really. These people were just being so selfish. We were _people_. We had the rights too! We were not born to be slaves. We were born because our parents loved each other.

But, that love was gone.

They abandoned us.

Just like how our own country abandoned us.

The henchman from the night before kicked open the gate, almost hitting the boy on the opposite side of the opening. He drug in a very large box, and left coming back with a few more large boxes. He then finally returned with just a large megaphone and placed it too on the box. He then drug out a ring of keys fumbling to find the right one, and walked over to the boy on the opposite side. He reached up and unlocked the boy's handcuffs from the chain that hung overhead, and drug him to the boxes, forcing him to climb up to the very tallest one, which was very unbalanced. The boy looked down frightened, and closed his eyes. _If only we could escape reality…_I thought, staring past the boy towards the clouds.

The crowd grew suddenly quiet, and the sound of clanking boots echoed in the town. And, just like everyone else, I turned my head to see who would be selling us to the rats. He was a another very old man, except this man was very well dressed, and wore a kingly like appearance. He didn't dare look at those who were tied in chains. That bastard was going to pay.

I quickly filled my mouth with spit and when he came within my reach, I spat at him as hard as I could.

Landed right on his right sleeve. Bulls-eye.

He turned his head sharply, and pulled out a handkerchief and wiped off the spit. He then raised his eyes towards me, his eyebrows narrowed to the point of almost touching one another as his face burned red. Within two steps he reached me, and without a word punched me in the stomach as hard as he could.

I lurched forward, the metal handcuffs digging into my skin. It took me a moment to gain control of my breathing and as soon as I was able to, he shoved the handkerchief into my mouth and grabbed me under the chin. "Don't do it again." he shoved me into the wall, and continued his pacing towards the boxes once more, earning an applause. I wiggled the fabric out of my mouth and spat on the ground. That thing tasted like masturbation and sweat.

"We will begin in two minutes ladies and gentlemen! Get a good look at the children, because once we begin, I'm sure they'll be flying out here before you'll get a good look!" The crowd laughed. I watched as several of the rich people's children shoved their way through the crowd and step onto the small fence that surrounded the area above ground. They began to toss coins at the children below them, pelting them with the hard metals. The small girl I had recognized with the broken glasses, was constantly flinching and twitching because of the pain.

The _adults_ began to laugh, except for a few women who pitied her. Screw you.

"Alright! Enough! Don't harm the merchandise!" the old man exclaimed waving the children away. Their parents pulled them back behind them, and stared down intently at the children they wanted.

I stared at each adult. None of the were looking in my general direction. The men's eyes were on the young girls. The women were on the older boys. None of them cared to glance any attention towards us, or the boy who stood on top of the boxes. "The bidding starts at 1 dollar!" the old man cried out.

The boy was finally sold for 5 bucks, and was pulled through the gate to his new owner. The next child was the youngest girl here. I hadn't recognized her, but by the face, she was at least 3 years of age. "No! If you sell her, take me!" called out one of the elder girls from across the way. She began to pull on her handcuffs, the tears falling down her face. "We're a packaged deal! You can't take her away from me!" the old man nodded, and quickly the henchman unlocked her handcuffs from the chain, and the girl sprinted to the boxes, climbing them as though her life depended on it, and hugged her sister tight.

"Since she insists on being sold together, I will double the price. I'm sure that young girl will turn out even more beautiful than her older sister here." Suddenly so many hands shot up, and they were sold for 50.

One by one, each child was sold off. The least amount was 2 dollars, while on the other hand a young man sold for about 200. Whores and their hormones.

It was finally my turn, but by the time I got on top of the boxes, half of the crowd had disappeared, and those who stayed behind had a child who was just recently standing in my spot not long ago. I closed my eyes and turned my head to the sky. The breeze felt amazing against my skin. The sun was high in the sky and there wasn't a single cloud in sight. If only these fucking handcuffs weren't on me, or else I would have climbed my way out of this place and ran for the hills.

"SOLD!" I was startled by the old man's yell, that I rocked the boxes I was standing on. The bottom box began to give in, tilting the rest, and I soon found myself falling towards the earth.

I closed my eyes once more expecting pain to overcome my senses.

Arms stopped my decent, lifting me up. "I don't want my new toy broken before I get to play with it, now do I?" whispered a mysterious voice. The voice itself sent shivers up my spine. I was set on my feet and brushed off. "Now, does this toy have a name?" A strong hand grabbed my chin, forcing my face upwards towards the sky. I slowly opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw were dark rings in the man's eyes. I froze.

"Give the boy a good whack, maybe he'll respond properly." the henchman said as he offered his whip.

"No. I'm not going to harm him…just yet." he turned back to me, and gave me a wide smile.

Something was telling me that smile was just as fake as well dressed appearance.

* * *

**I know for a 10 year old, Zeref sounds pretty intelligant. but, from the manga, i just get this vibe that he truly is/was a very smart child, so that is how he is portrayed. He might be a little OOC, but that is because not much info has been released about him. but I THINK HE'S AMAZING! :3 :3 :3 **

**So please comment and reviews would be lovely**

**Love XO Loki's Angel OX**


	2. Blood Does Not Smell So Sweet

**Be My Slave  
By: MEEEEEE! :3 :3**

**HELLO LOVELIES! 3 3 Oh my, I've had a lot of people read this story, and some very wonderful reiews 3 thank you!**

**I've been getting the itch to write, so over the last few days I've had very little time to actually type you up this chapter (and parts of my other stories as well) but I worked on this one the most because I'm feeling very maniacle XD MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! No not really :3**

**Well just a warning, this is rated M for a reason people, and if you really don't like swearing, please read another story filled with bunnies and unicorns who poop butterflies. **

**And the characters might be a little OOC, but I'm trying as hard as I can to keep them somewhat close to their original personalities, but it really is hard when only a little is released about a charcter, especially Zeref, so I'm going on what I'm picturing him as. XP But I hope you enjoy it anyway.**

**And...someone had commented that there is a possiblity that Zeref could be in fact Natsu's father...STAR WARS MOMENT! lol not really. But that could be a possiblity, but if that ends up being true...well than this story will be against that fact XP XP Just going to state that lol**

**and unfortunately I do not own the characters of Fairy Tail. If I did there would be huge packs of rabid weiner dogs blowing up cars and shooting people with machine guns. :D :D**

**Chapter 2: Blood Does Not Smell So Sweet

* * *

**

It was the worst of times, and it was the best of times, for someone other than me. I could smell the constant smell of blood not only from my wrists, but from the bastard who had bought me. Blood. It was making me nauseous….but why? I grew up in a small village of blood shed. Everyday I saw it spewing from unsuspecting criminals and bystanders alike, painting the town of it's unfortunate reminder it was caught in a larger war. We weren't the only people in the country, so of course we had to dragged into the god damned chaos. Why was this blood giving me the chills, the unwanted feeling of dread and anguish, the replaying fucking bloody memories over and over…and over…and over….and over…

"I CAN'T TAKE IT!" I screamed, kicking the side of the door. The man's arm tightened around my neck as I struggled to escape his unnatural smell of blood. His other hand was stroking my head harder than necessary, trying to calm me down. "GET ME OUT OF HERE! PLEASE!" I cried out, the last of my breath being cut off, my body shutting down, and my vision twisting in and out of focus.

"Calm down Zeref. Nothing is go-SHIT!" I had managed to bend my head forward enough to take a decent amount of his arm between my teeth and chomp down hard. He pried my teeth loose and rubbed his arm while I fell to the floor gasping for breath. I felt him grab me by the back of my shirt, lifting me so we were eye to eye before he thrust me into the door. I smacked my head hard against the glass window, causing the car to come to an immediate stop.

**What was that sir? Is everything alright?** I heard the chauffer's voice call through the intercom. The voice sounded uncaring and hardly enthusiastic, like he already knew what had happened behind the wall between us.

I heard a tiny click as I struggled to sit up. "Keep driving Caprico. Everything is fine. Just having a little fun is all." the man hadn't removed his eyes from me once. It was unnerving and very unpleasant, but I refused to speak a word to him. I wasn't going to break. "Now, sit down." he smiled, his sharp toothy grin just a façade to get him on my better side. He held out a hand as a peace offering, but then dropped it when he realized I was still handcuffed to the sharp metal that was cutting into my wrists. I was sure to earn permanent scars from them. He sighed before yanking on my shirt and pulling me so I sat on the seat right next to him. He threw his arm over me, but this time, it rested on my shoulder. "Now, can you just wait until we get to the mansion?"

Blood. His body reeked of blood. The most disgustingly awful smell of putrid corpses. It over powered my senses. The smell just too much to bare. I could feel the smell just twisting and upturning the bile in my stomach until alas, I turned and barfed onto the seat next to me. My "master" as he told me to call him, just laughed his ass off, wiping my face for me, which was probably one of the main sources of the putrid smell. Which made me vomit even more. And each time, he wiped my face with his finger, sending that smell into my senses, stirring my stomach, until finally my stomach had nothing to give. He then wiped the bile on his finger onto the back of my shirt.

The man pressed the button again, "Caprico, before we even get out of the car, grab one of the maids, and tell them to clean this seat until it's spotless."

**Yes sir. We will be there within five minutes.**

"Excellent Caprico. Good work." He turned his gaze back to me. "Now, once we've stopped, I will remove the handcuffs from your wrists boy." He grabbed my chin, but this time I had sucked in some air before the smell of blood could really reach me, and whispered, "but only if you're a good boy." he blew his breath into my ear, making shivers cascade down my spine. He suddenly pulled away and turned his attention out the window.

As soon as the car came to a halt, _master_ opened the door and stepped out, dragging me by the back of my shirt. I was stunned to see the light of day. The car was very dimly lit, even with all of the windows. A young maid, about my height, around my age with light blue hair, came streaming out of nowhere and had crawled inside the car with a bucket of cleaning supplies. Caprico shut the door behind her and drove off towards a tall white building.

Oh holly hell, where was I?

"This way Zeref." the man called out. I reluctantly turned and followed. If I was going to survive, I needed to at least go along with whatever work he had cut for me. The plans of escape would come over time. But, this is when I really got a good look of the man. He had the most wild hair style I had ever see, spiking out from every odd angle, and a very light hair. He was broad in the shoulders, and from the look of his loose fitting formal wear, he wasn't into the whole public appearance. He wore no shoes, and the bottoms of his feet were almost pitch black. And he was very built for a man who looked in his early twenties.

But he surprised me when he spun on a heel, sticking his hands in his pockets with a very bored expression on his face. "Goddamn it. Ultear is here today…" a low growl rumbled from his chest. "Zeref stay behind me."

"Zancrow!" a very loud high pitched scream thundered over the quiet atmosphere….Zancrow? Why did I know that name? "Zancrow! What the hell was that!" A loud stomp finally made Zancrow turn back around, standing in my way, something told me to stay where I was, but my curiosity was really hard to contain.

"What the hell do you want bitch?" he complained, he began to walk towards the house, so I reluctantly followed close behind.

"'What the hell?' Is that all you can say to me?" Once I touched the stairs, she came into view. She was one of the more beautiful women I have seen the last few days. She had very pitch black hair that was completely straight, with an expensive looking ribbon in her hair with short bangs that covered her forehead. She wore a well designed dress with probably the finest fabric from the look of it. Her cleavage showed big time, but it wasn't impressive. It just screamed _whore_. "Zancrow..." she closed her eyes, and took in a deep breath, her once stressed expression into one of a calm and relaxed nature, although a smile never graced her lips. "You know better than to mess with _my property._ You have your own people. Fetch them next time."

"The girls clean better, besides the boy got sick on the way here. Don't blame me."

"Brought home _another_ one? You just bought the last boy not even, what, two weeks ago? Yet you bring in another one. God damn it…" The rest she mumbled under her breath, than she turned around and entered the door. Zancrow followed close behind as he tore off his formal jacket. Before it could even hit the ground, another maid had picked it up, along with his white shirt and pants. Leaving him in his boxers.

"You there, take the boy and the keys to his chamber, and don't let him loose until you bathe him."

"Yes Milord."

My mind began racing at this point. He got _bored_ of his last slave? What the hell was his last slave doing? Did he torture him? Who the hell were these people? "Come this way please." I snapped back to see a young girl maybe a year younger than I with blond hair and chocolate brown eyes stare down at me with a wide grin on her face. "This way."

I slowly nodded, following the small girl into the enemies lair.

I was expecting the same putrid stench that was covering Zancrow from head to foot, but I was surprised to find it smelt strongly of a combination of lilacs, fruit, and sweet pastries. I glanced around the first room I entered. It was the living room, and on the dark blue leather couch loudly snored the bastard with a foot on the back of the couch, and on the floor. Ultear was sitting in a chair in the corner, her piercing dark eyes staring me up and down as I slowly made my way to the opposite side of the room to the staircase.

Everything else in the room looked like that of a millionaire. There wasn't a whole lot to the room, but everything in it looked as though it cost more than three of the top selling child at the auction that took place just this morning.

That reminded me of my current situation.

I felt as though I rightly fit the roll of _slave_; baggy clothes covered in bile, dirt, and blood, dried mud covered my feet and legs, while grease just coated my hair to the point it weighed it down in front of my face. I felt like a pig. "Come on." chimed the little girl. She had a quick pace up the stairs, which startled me. It was as though she had a beat to her step as we made our way to the "chamber" I was to stay in for the time being. She slowly opened the door and I was somewhat a little surprised. The chamber fit my new job description perfectly. Although it looked clean, the beds were old and rusted, the pillows flat, and the sheets were covered in stains of all sorts of colors. The girl waited until I was in the room before she closed it.

"What the hell am I doing here?" I spat out, striding towards the window. From the window I saw a wide field of crops, a pen full of pigs, chickens, and a horse and the barn that connected to it. I could see the man named Caprico walking ahead of the blue haired maid who looked exhausted and sick looking. "What the fuck is this place?"

I heard the jingle of keys, and felt a tug on my handcuffs, but my eyes stayed focused on the landscape. "You are at Mr. Zancrow's farm. Or his "hideaway" as he likes to call it." the girl simply replied, followed by the loud thump from the handcuffs hitting the floor. It stung as the wounds were exposed to the fresh air, making more blood drip down into my palms. The girl pulled out towels from a random pocket in her apron and wrapped my wounds in them. "My name is Lucy by the way." I finally glanced down into her eyes. "I know this might sound weird, but we're actually one of the few lucky ones."

"What the hell makes you say that. We're _slaves_. Don't you know what a slave is?" Stupid bitch.

She only smiled and picked up the handcuffs. "Ya we're still slaves, but we could have the dead end chores here and sleep in the bunk house behind the barn." Lucy wiped down the metal in her hands before setting them on the bed. She motioned for me to follow.

"What kind of chores do they do?" I really didn't want to be talking to such an ignorant person, but I didn't know when the next time I'd be talking to someone other than Zancrow, so might as well feed my sanity while I still contained it.

"Well, most of them work out in the fields and work with the animals. They're not as well fed as the workers in the house, they only bathe once a week, and…" She stopped at the bedroom door, gripping the doorknob tightly. "…they tend to die off fast." she sighed, opening the door and escaping through. I could feel the sadness that surrounded her words though. The feeling of her words settled into the pit of my stomach, icing my body. What she was saying was true.

I was quick to follow, not wanting to get lost in this place. A wave of warmth emitted from the door way as we stepped inside the steamy room. She quickly turned off the running faucet and went about the room, grabbing soaps and towels before dumping them next to the tub. "Ok. You need to get cleaned for Ultear's approval." Lucy's smile was beginning to get on my nerves. Being so optimistic like. It was pissing me off to no end. How could she be so…so fucking happy with what was going on here!

"Why in hell do I need that women's damn approval?" I remarked bitterly. "I'm not her slave. Nor am I that tricky bastards. I belong to no one."

"Well, it doesn't matter." her smile instantly faded, her arms quickly were folded over her chest, her eyebrow narrowed. "You need to bathe or else the cuts on your wrists will be infected, and you'll have no hands to make your escape."

I froze, my eyes widening with surprise. "What?" was all I could managed to speak.

"You heard me." she said, stomping towards me, beginning to pull off my shirt. "Trust me, that thought isn't as uncommon as you think. Every kid who walks in here thinks the same thing." She pulled down my pants. I could feel myself blushing from embarrassment as I covered myself. Although I lived in a dirty place, I wasn't used to being so exposed, it didn't matter what gender was around. But, surprisingly she only stared into my eyes. "I wouldn't try if I were you." she warned poking me in the chest, placing a hand on her hip. "Even kids older than you try to escape. They've never been able to make a break for it because Master Zancrow knows all." she then quickly turned towards the door. "Remember that." With one last glance back at me, she closed the door behind her.

I was left perfectly speechless for about a minute before I came back to my senses. I shook my head in disgust. "That dumb blond bitch thinks I'm not going to make this out alive?" I stepped into the soothing water, and instantly sank down, wiping dirt off my face. "Well, I'll show her." I muttered. That bitch was going to be proven wrong.

Just like other children.

No one was going to save us. I would just have to save myself.

* * *

"Milord, Zeref is ready." announced Lucy. Her tone was not as pleasant as before, but who would happy in front the bastard who was taking your freedom away? I sure in hell wouldn't. At least she had some common sense.

"Bring him down."

"Yes Milord." Lucy bounced up the steps, where at the very top I had waited and watched as she grabbed my hand and lead me back down into the living room. "Here he is Milord."

"You're now excused. The bitch wants you. Go." he waved for her to leave, and as she left, it felt that all my hope and means of escaping were gone with her. Dammit, I hated not to have the upper hand in a situation.

He was now sprawled out on the couch with his feet on the coffee table with a glass of…something, I couldn't tell the color of it because the lack of lighting. The minutes went by, and about every 45 seconds, he took a sniff of whatever was in his glass, not daring to touch the liquid to his lips.

The irritating feeling in me grew each time he took a sniff from the glass.

And he took another sniff.

And another, and of course, another.

Oh, what a surprise! He took _another_ damn _sniff_ from the fucking _liquid_!

"Ok, what the fuck is with the snuffing of the glass you damn bastard! I finally cried out in agitation. The man smiled, his sharp teeth almost glowing the faint light. Before taking yet _another_ sniff.

"It calms me." He finally pulled the glass away from his face, and suddenly tossed the liquid towards the old fashioned fireplace on his left. The flames suddenly grew ten times larger, feeding the flame and making heat surge throughout the room.

"The fuck!" was all I managed to spit out. I had to shield my eyes from the light, while he just sat there, like it was a nothing, everyday, regular occurrence. I wouldn't have been surprised if it was.

"Yes, well that will come later." he replied, standing up, his eyes glued to me. There was something behind the darkness of his pupils that was…pulsating with _excitement._ I could feel it's effects on me, my spine tingling once more, and my body turning stiff.

…what the hell was he talking about?

As I stood there contemplating what the hell was just going on, the maid with the light blue hair scurried in and bowed in apology. "I-I-I'm sorry Milord…b-b-but there s-s-seems to-"

"Just spit it out you dumbass!" his smile never faded, but when his eyes snapped to the young girl, the excitement was replaced with another…excitement I could call it…I guess he was still excited, but now for a whole new reason.

"There's been a death sir. Out in the bunk house. Mest, he's been killed." she sputtered. I could tell she was trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. She turned her gaze to the floor before bowing once more and scurried out the front door.

I jumped in my new worn out brown worker boots, when a low, wild malicious laughter thundered in the living room, making my body shake with fury. That _bastard._

"This, I _got_ to see." he said, excitement filled his voice. He grabbed my wrist, and with a sudden pull, I was off my feet, struggling to use my legs as he drug me towards the barn.

I could hear the voices of young men as we rounded the corner of the barn. There stood a small shed type building that needed badly to be replaced and rebuilt or at least painted, that could probably house about…fifteen men, and barely thirty if the beds were turned into bunks. Zancrow kicked opened the beat up wooden door, and instantly the crowd around the door disappeared into their own beds. There on the floor laid the body of a 30 year old man. He had a blood knife burrowed deep within his chest, right where the heart was. His facial expression was one of surprise, so it was probably an instant death. He was wearing worse clothing than what I came here in, wearing no shirt, and his pants were too short and small for his own legs, so his penis pressed tightly against the thin fabric. His body was covered with scars and bruises, some looked as though they came from this hell like job as a slave, some of the fresher cuts and bruises looked as though they were forced upon because of how deep each would looked.

Zancrow laughed even louder, bouncing around the body and his pool of blood. It was sickening, and the smell of blood was strong.

The blood of an innocent man.

The nutcase began to kick the body, his feet splashing in dark red and leaving foot impressions with the blood everywhere to make it look like he more than just stabbed. In fact, where his foot met the skin, were where some of the fresher bruises were. They must have kicked him when he was barely alive.

Finally the man stopped and grabbed the knife from his chest, blood splattering on me as he raised the knife quickly in the air.

The smell of blood was getting to smell exactly like the tricky bastard himself. I couldn't stand it. As he turned around, I began to quickly wipe away the blood on my old baggy shirt. But, I could still smell the blood.

The blood smelt like fear.

And fear smelt like pain.

And pain felt like pain. There was no definition for pain.

So I could really smell the pain of this dead man.

The thought itself turned my stomach once more. I had never met this man, yet I felt his pain through the smell of his blood. Blood….

I ran my fingers through my hair and knelt down, trying to hold my stomach down as well. I couldn't move. I was petrified, staring at the wild beast at the other end of the bunk house, dancing his bloody dance of victory.

It wasn't even into the 4th hour here, and I already had enough to last me a life time.

"Here. Smell this." I heard a low voice whisper in my ear. I saw a handkerchief dangle in front of my face. Taking no chances, I grabbed the fabric and quickly inhaled.

The smell instantly relaxed me. It…it was an odd smell. A good smell yes, far better than the smell of blood. But, it wasn't like the sweet smelling perfumes in the house either. It was a comforting smell…there really wasn't anything like it before…

"Now quickly, outside!" the voice whispered again. I only nodded, standing up. I turned around, to thank whoever helped me. But, there was no one. I looked left to right, but the four bunk beds were empty. And the nearest people were next to the body.

The body…

My stomach began to turn once more. But, I continuously inhaled the beautiful scent as I sprinted out of the building.

"Zeref!" cried the bastard from within the bunk house. I froze only a few steps away from the door. "Zeref…where do you think you're going?" I quickly tucked the handkerchief in my pants, (for there was no where else to really put it) and spun around, with my own little façade of fake smiles.

"It smells worse than my village in there. I needed to step out for a second." I watched as he coolly leaned against the doorway of the house, a bemused expression plastered to his face.

"Suck it up my little bitch. You'll get used to the smell soon enough." His long pointed tongue lapped his lips before he turned to entertain himself some more.

That bastard was going to pay.

* * *

**:3 ello! I hoped you enjoy this chapter of "Be My Slave"! 3 3 te he!**


	3. Angry Bastard

**Be My Slave**  
**By: MEEEEEEEE!**

**Hello lovely people! :) :) :) It's dark and grey where I am...so I thought I might brighten up some people's day with a story ^^**

**Well here is chapter 3! **

**Chapter 3: Angry Bastard**

* * *

I had to stand there and watch as the older men dragged Mest's body out of the bunk house. Zancrow was being a wild bastard, continuously insulting the man, kicking him, and as well as pissing on him. He even made the men stop, drop him so he could do his dirty deed. I only turned away, clutching the handkerchief. Whoever gave it to me, I owed them.

Funny. I have never done anything to deserve to be _saved_ I guess I would call it. But, honestly, the person only saved me another day of sanity in this reeking farm.

"Alright, you know where to take him." I heard the bastard announce. I shoved the fabric back into my pants in time to feel the man's dirty hand run through my hair. He bent down, blowing hot air into my ear. I attempted to wiggle away from his grasp, but his grip only tightened, hurting my head greatly. I refused to acknowledge the pain. He was not going to know my limits. "a little feisty…aren't we?" Zancrow purred, blowing more of his disgusting, rancid breath into my ear. "You're not ready yet though….not yet." he shoved my head away before turning to the nearest person, which happened to be a younger boy about my age. "You there, go grab the white rope from the barn and take it in the house."

The raven head nodding before scampering away. As I watched the boy run off, Zancrow thought it was oh so _hilarious_ to literally kick my ass, sending me stumbling several feet.

"Go into the house and remain in your room until I say otherwise." he licked his lips once more before turning and heading for the bunk house.

I watched until the man disappeared before daring to move. The men were now active in the fields checking the crops, and carrying large buckets of water everywhere. The young boys were in the animal pens cleaning out the manure into one huge pile in the corner of the pen.

"You better head inside." I heard a young voice call. I felt my heart beating fast. I had no idea why though. There was nothing to be afraid of, nothing exhilarating happened, nothing but the young boy with a rusty looking rope. "If he sees you out here, you're literally screwed." the young boy swung his arm around my shoulder, just as though we were good friends. "The name's Grey by the way." he announced as he began to drag me towards the house.

"Why in-"

"I would watch the tongue as well." he said casually. "Ultear has a thing for boys with an attitude." his eye watched me for a moment before we headed up the stairs. "And she's harsher than Zancrow." He dropped his arm before entering the house, keeping his mouth shut as we passed through the living room. Once again, Ultear was in the corner in her chair, although, this time she was holding a giant glass ball of sorts.

"Another death?" Her tone was absent minded, like all of her concentration went into staring at the ball.

"Yes Milady." Grey responded quickly, bowing before her. That's when her gaze finally risen from the ball. She scanned the both of us; Gray for about a minute, and then to me. Her gaze remained on me though.

"Report to my room once Zancrow is finished with you this evening young boy…and you too Zeref." She placed a hand on top of the ball, and began to rub it gently. "Immediately."

"Yes Milady." Grey bowed once more before grabbing my hand and pulling me up the stairs. I could still feel the creepy lady's gaze on me as I reached the top. Whore.

Grey opened my room door and once I was in the room, he shut it gently. "God damn that woman is crazy." Grey muttered, tossing the rope onto the bed before heading towards the window. He opened it, letting the warm breeze flow in.

"What is with that ball?" I asked sitting on the bed. The raven leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. For a young boy he was very slim with long hair that fell into his face. He looked much cleaner than the rest of the workers.

He only shrugged though, turning his gaze to me. "She carries it around. Some say she has psychic powers. Others say she can summon evil beings with it. I think it just calms her the way gas calms the crazy bastard.

"What the fuck?" I spat out, completely stunned.

He raised an eyebrow. "I forgot, you're new." He pushed away from the wall and sat on the mattress next to me. "He likes the smell of gas. If he's inside, Ultear makes him use a wine glass. When he's outside, he'll snuff the shit straight from the bucket. He's a psycho bastard. He'll even agree if you spit the words in his face." he shook his head, running his hand through his hair. "Either way, welcome to the whacky shack." He chuckled.

I laid down, staring up at the battered ceiling. This room really was shitty.

It was very awkward in the room. I didn't want to know about the crazy, psychotic things, people, whatever was here, and I guess he didn't want to tell either.

He suddenly slid off the bed, and grabbed the rope, tying one end of the rope to one side of the end bed frame. What I hadn't noticed before, was the metal chain attached to the end of the 15 ft rope. And, at the end of that chain there was a handcuff. Just as I opened my mouth to ask the most dumbass question, a high pitched whistle echoed into the room. Grey dropped the rope, and quickly escaped to the window. He stuck his head out, staring at something of importance. From where I sat I could not tell.

I was too stunned to move.

Stunned. Huh. I had no reason to. But, after hearing that ear bleeding bloody whistle, it sent a chill down my spine. I had watched as Grey spun around his eyes wide with fear.

"He's pissed." Grey said in an almost inaudible whisper. I cocked an eyebrow, bemused by his expression. What was it with people being unclear of their intentions? Dumbasses.

Grey began shaking as he shut the window, glancing down at the people below. His skin went even paler than it was, his body was shaking with fear. I only watched as he took in a deep breath, closing his eyes shut. "…not me…not me…not me…" he began to chant quietly.

I would have asked what was wrong, but than that would make me sound even more retarded. I knew what was wrong anyway: Zancrow was _pissed_, and Grey was praying he wasn't the victim of his torture.

But, the real question here was….who will be?

Grey quickly sat on the bed, trying to gain composure, but I could tell it was failing miserably. I give the kid credit though. At least he was trying to increase his odds of surviving. We both froze when we heard the door downstairs slam shut. Grey turned to me, his dark eyes trying to tell me something. I was baffled; who knew someone could feel so many emotions at once.

We could hear the man's feet pound against the steps as he climbed higher up the stairs, as he climbed higher to the second floor, as he climbed higher to us.

We heard his footsteps no more as he reached the hall. I held my breath. My body was practically reacting on its own. In my mind, I felt collected, calm, and ready to attack if necessary. But…my body.

I found, I too, was shaking uncontrollably. I stared down at my hand, seeing it shake violently as I attempted to hold still. I flashed my eyes back to the raven boy in front of me. Neither of us said a thing, but he mouthed the words I was afraid of hearing: we're screwed.

Everything happened so quickly, I didn't have any time to process anything.

First, the door was kicked open, breaking the doorknob and the doorframe to the point of no return.

Next, I found Gray pushing me against the wall, pressing his back hard against me, shielding me from the hot headed master.

It pissed me off a little, the fact he was taller than me, but that feeling didn't last long when I heard Zancrow's feet reach the bed.

"Where the hell is he?" Zancrow's voice growled.

"Who Milord?" Grey's voice crackled.

"Don't play stupid you cunt. Where is he?" I could hear the sound of the handcuffs moving. I swallowed hard. Grey's body tensed as he tried to push me even harder into the wall.

"I-I-I don't know Milord."

I heard Zancrow's spit hit the wall next to me, the bed creaking as he crawled over to our side. "I'm going to say this again, but this time you better tell me the truth…where is the dragon boy?"

Dragon boy? What the fuck?

"I honestly don't know sir. After morning's meal, he said something about the river." I managed to wedge my head to see past the raven's neck. Zancrow had a violent, psychotic expression….well, one that wasn't smiling. He held the handcuffs in his right hand while his left was being pressed against his thigh, popping the knuckles.

"Now, that wasn't hard, now was it?" he asked, the left side of his lip twitching upwards into a smirk. He slowly moved his left hand out, and Gray reluctantly shot out his hand into his. Zancrow placed the handcuff tightly around his wrists. That was when I noticed dark brownish rings around his wrists next to where the handcuffs were placed.

Gray had this treatment more than once…to the point that he was bleeding, the metal cutting deep into his skin. I flinched, my own wrists throbbing with pain.

"Get on your hands and knees." Zancrow said. His voice was increasingly growing edgy. Gray was yanked away, stumbling onto the old mattress. Zancrow's hair flipped, revealing his piercing gaze to me. "You boy, just watch." Zancrow pressed his right fist against his left palm, cracking his knuckles loudly.

I felt as though Gray's body was still pressed against me, trapping me to the wall in fear. Gray's gaze flickered to me for the briefest moment before he was punched in his gut, making him fall to the mattress, clutching with his free hand his now bruised side.

His eyes…in his eyes, I saw relief. Out of all the emotions his charcoal eyes revealed, relief was the one the came across the loudest.

Relief of what? Of the fact he was sparing me pain and suffering? He wasn't doing me much.

I could feel his pain.

I gripped the wall, unable to move, unable to function, unable to help ease his pain.

I only watched as the bastard made him get back up, and pull down the boy's pants.

_We're literally screwed._ His voice echoed in my head.

I was brought here to be a _sex toy?_ What sort of fucked up place is this?

Zancrow reached down and stroked the boy's penis roughly, pulling on it hard, making Gray whimper. Zancrow's expressed laxed back into the crazed, psychotic expression he wore as he danced around Mest's body. The more Gray moaned with pain, the …_happier _the bastard became.

The man roughly shoved his fingers into his victim's mouth before positioning them at the boy's asshole.

I felt my own begin to throb as I watched his fingers insert one at a time into the boy's tight entrance. Gray's head hung loosely from his shoulders as his fingers dug into the mattress. The bastard's fingers dug in deep, and when Gray refused to respond properly, He pulled the rope, pulling so hard I'm sure his shoulder was popping out if the socket.

"GAAAAHHHHH!" Gray screamed out, only to be quieted by Zancrow's maniacal laughter. My stomach tensed. I wanted to look away. The raven's cries of pain was making my ears hurt, but I couldn't pry my eyes away. They were glued to Gray's face, now contorted from the pain. Zancrow pulled out his fingers and moved his hand to his boxers, pulling out his own member, which was larger than the length of my own and Gray's combined. The bastard glanced over at me, licking his lips before letting go of the rope. Gray's arm moved slowly back to help support himself, small whimpers escaping his lips.

"Zeref. Watch carefully." He slapped Gray's ass hard, leaving a deep red five star. Gray slowly turned around, so he now faced his master. "Suck hard." he ordered, no _demanded. _

Why couldn't I fucking move! I wanted to just pry myself away from the wall and just run in a dead sprint. Away from here. _Far_ away from here. But I was anchored to the wall. Dammit to hell.

I hated to say it. But, I'm sure if I was to run away and get caught, my fate would be worse than Gray's.

Right as the boy's lips touched his head, a light knocking sound echoed through the room.

Zancrow growled, shoving Gray away. The raven collapsed to the mattress, silently enjoying the torture free moment. Zancrow sat on the side of the bed, watching as the young maid Lucy stepped in, her eyes glued unwillingly to her master's eyes. "What the hell do you want?" barked the bastard.

"I'm sorry Milord, but Caprico found the young man you were looking for." An odd chuckling sound emitted from Zancrow, slowly filling the quiet room.

"What are you standing there for! Drag him in!" Zancrow reached over, undoing the handcuffs from Gray, shoving him off the bed, along with his pants. Gray collapsed to the floor, with a loud thud, hitting his head on the floor. He winced as he sat up, rubbing his shoulder.

Slowly, I felt myself move away from the wall, and onto the floor on my knees, breathing in heavily.

"You alright?" whispered Gray, grabbing his pants. I only nodded, grabbing my chest.

I don't know what was going on with my body, but whatever it was, it was pissing me off. First, my heart starts racing for no reason, and now I can't even control my own movements. Something about this place…just didn't seem right.

"Get away from me you jackass!" cried out another young voice. As I helped Gray stand, I glanced over towards the door.

There, hanging by the back of his shirt, was another young boy our age. He had an odd color pink for his hair color, and he too had dark eyes, although his eyes seemed to be a little larger than the raven's. He wore an old white battered scarf that seemed too large for his body. He wore a black vest and baggy pants, no doubt they were someone else's. He had a built body for a young boy, and apparently a really feisty attitude.

"Well well…there he is…" Zancrow muttered, all of his teeth showing in what seemed like a smile. He stood, crossing quickly to the boy. "Drop him."

Caprico did as he was told and quickly shut the door before the boy could follow. The pinkette quickly turned on his heel, stomping his feet.

As his face turned up, that's when we made eye contact.

We paused, startled by the other's presence. His look was filled with curiosity, while I felt my gaze turn to sympathy. He was to deal with the bastard's urges now. He let his gaze linger a little longer than was appropriate from the look on Zancrow's face. It was as if he didn't like the fact his toy's attention wasn't on him. The bastard grabbed the boy's hair, and pulled him to the bed. "Go. You are not to enter the house until dinner." he ordered, not even bothering to see if we left or not. "I have get in some exercise." the sound of the sudden change in his voice made me gag. It was completely different than the tone he used with Gray.

But, we weren't going to argue. I pulled Gray out of the room, and shut the door behind us.

Whoever that was, wherever he came from, he was literally screwed.

* * *

**o oh snap! And so Natsu finally appears! MUAHAHAHAHA! I feel like an evil person at the moment...poor Natsu. OH well. Not my problem...or is it?**

**I hope you enjoyed! Please comment!**

**Loki's Angel! XD**


	4. Why Is Always The Question

**Be My Slave**  
**By: ...MEEEE! XD XD XD**

**Hello there! Oh snap it's been a while, but not too long I hope! XD XD**

**So, I've been up to nothing really, so I've been typing and drawing here and there... since it's my SPRING .! OH MY GODLY MINATO! **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy the newest chapter! X3**

**Warning!: I do not own these characters. There is violence, a lot of cursing, sexual themes. And I'd thought I would warn you, if you had not noticed it already, Zeref does not believe in god in this story...just to warn you since that thought_ just_ occured to me... T-T Believe what you will.  
Also, the characters may be a little OOC, for there is not a whole lot of information on certain characters, and I am very cliche when it comes to romance, so their attitudes may differ a little from the original story. Thank you for your time XD XD XD**

**Chapter 4: Why is always the question**

* * *

It has already been one hellish, fucking month since I was dragged here from my home town. Holy shit.

I've been counting the days as they pass. Each one-if even possible-worst than the last, in some way, shape or form.

_But, I haven't been "used"_, as the bastard likes to word it. I haven't had the "_pleasure" _of having his cock shoved up my ass so far, that I scream out as if I was being bloody, fucking murdered.

No. But, I've had to sit there and _watch_ it. Oh, hell yes I have.

About 4 times a week, about the same time (around 5) each day, me and an unlucky being were literally dragged from our meals, most of the time, hardly even touched, to be…."_honored_" with the task of making his cock swell twice is enormous size and have his seed all over us.

I'm not daring to count my chickens. I've been lucky enough just to play the I'm-too-innocent-and-young-so-you-can't-fuck-me-yet card. Yet, there were so many times I had come so close to being the victim. But, no matter where I was, who was being fucked, each young adult other than the bastard in the room including me, had some sort of constraint on. I usually was tied to a chair that was brought up by Caprico earlier that day.

…I've been wondering, as I sat upon the sex bed, as I like to call it, staring at either the ceiling or the walls, why I was just _sitting_ there. Absolutely terrified. I could _do_ something. I was the only boy not yanked on by a leash. I had no leash. I had no collar. As long as I heeded the bastard's words, and was in the house for all meals and for pleasure hour, I was free to roam.

At first, I didn't even bother to leave the house. I knew no one. I was sure to get yelled at for distracting the workers or pissing off the animals. But, eventually I attempted to stretch my limit. I was quick to learn that I could do what the hell I wanted to.

So I used my "freedom" by learning about the people and the land. :

-This place was, in fact, a sex farm.

-Zancrow liked his slaves with a little muscle. That's why they work constantly on the farm.

-About 85% of the slaves that worked here were between the ages of 10-20.

-The animals are actually raised to feed the workers. If they had no pig, they never ate any pork. So there was an abundance of animals to work.

-All the people on the farm were victims of war in their hometown. They were people like me.

They knew bloodshed. They knew torment. They knew a hell lot more than I did. Yet…they _stayed_. When I asked a few of the older men, they told me they like the tranquility of the farm. They were treated well as long as they worked hard. Zancrow didn't play with them any more, but they still had their share of pain and blood.

The younger boys told me they stayed because they didn't want to go home. I really knew it was because they _couldn't_, even if they tried.

We were out in the middle of no where. And, if they were to even find their way back to a village, who was to say they would survive the trip all the way home? They stayed because it guaranteed shelter, food, and above all, connections. They shared the same fate, same clothes, same food. They understood each other, and they were their to support them. Once a week-I assumed on Sundays. I've lost track of the actual date- they would gather around and pray. Pray that they would survive another day. Another minute. Another moment. Even if it wasn't to a god, they would pray.

Gray and I would watch every week from the door frame as they gathered around and prayed. It made me curious. Why would they really want to do that for? Ignorant dumb-asses.

* * *

I had noticed recently the changes in Gray. He was more gaunt, and even more horrifyingly sick looking. As of late, he's been the victim of the bastard's sick, twisted ways. I would know. I've had to sit there, and keep myself from punching the bastard in the face so many times because of the torment he had to endure. Stupid bastard.

We sat on the porch one evening, staring up at the late starry sky. We actually had been sitting there for some amount of hours, just silently enjoying the torture free time we had. Oddly enough, I had taken a liking to the boy. Not to the extent I would call him my friend…more like an acquaintance. He helped keep my sanity, and I dragged him out of the sex room.

"Hey, Zeref?" he whispered. I was instantly snapped out of my tenacious thoughts of the this god damned forsaken place.

"Ya?"

I could hear him take in a deep breath. I didn't want to really be talking. I wasn't the talkative type, nor was I the social type in general really. "What was your home like?"

I didn't move, but only glanced in his general direction. What the hell brought this up?

"…If I was to label it," I began, thinking back to the faces of the villagers, "I would have to say the village over all, were tight-asses." I could feel his gaze on my profile as my eyes wandered to the thin crescent of the moon. "More like…they believed that god was going to do everything for them. They souly believed that they were really god's children."

He nodded slowly. No other words were said, leaving the awkward silence to hang in the air.

"What about your parents?" he asked slowly, which slightly irritated me. I only sighed, wanting that silence to ring in my ears.

"They…were parents….they did what they thought was right, and ended up dying trying to save the village. They were dumb-asses. The whole village was."

"What? Why would you call your own parents that? Your friends?" he asked startled. That's when I finally turned my face towards him.

His eyes were wide, glimmered at me in the darkness. I ran a hand through my hair, tired of playing this game. "I had seen my own parents die before my eyes." Gray's mouth instantly shut, his eyes flickered with pain, "They knew they couldn't win. The whole village knew. But, did that stop them? No. Why? Because they thought god was on their side." I could hear the edge to my words.

Did…did I really sound that harsh? I've been known for my collected head…but, I guess my anger towards my parents….

No.

It wasn't them. They were not to blame.

It was God. Their _fucking_ God. That simple three letter word that more power in it than raid that swept through the village and murdered them.

I only shook my head, standing up and took in that deep breath of air, feeling my head cool.

"I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

I turned towards the building, glad that the conversation stopped where it had. I was not in the mood to get fired up over some miserly spirit figure.

"Wait!" He called out once more. I sighed stopping at the door, slapping my palm to my forehead.

"What _is it_ Gray? Do you want me to tuck you in too?"

"No…" I heard him stand up. I turned around and there saw a disturbing sight.

He looked so ghost like it made my stomach turn. His already pale skin and ragged hair looked more porcelain and unhuman like than I had ever seen. His dark eyes were hidden in the shadow of his hair, but I could still tell they were staring at me intently.

"nah…never mind. I'll see you tomorrow." and with that he turned on his heel, and sprinted to the bunk house.

* * *

The next morning went by as usual. I was to wake up to Zancrow _screaming_ bloody murder at the slaves, than I was to eat my meal of two eggs-which I have now grown sick of and won't even touch them making me starve till lunch- and out the door towards the fields.

The older men greeted me kindly as I sprinted past, not that I replied to any of them. My theory is one of those men likes to rape the younger boys, and he's freaky looking. Man-whore.

But, today I sprinted past the barns, past the bunk house and towards the line of trees that lie just yonder. I had heard several men talk about him, and Gray didn't seem that much fond of the subject either, but today I was going to meet this boy…the _dragon_ boy everyone keeps talking about.

Like I said, I'm not a very social person, but I have picked up the decent eavesdropping skills up rather quickly. Although a small place out in the middle of nowhere, you'd be surprised as to what floats around as rumors.

I hadn't seen the boy once since our first encounter. Zancrow liked to deal with him in the afternoons or late, late, _late_ at night. And ever since then, I've grown curious as to _why_ Zancrow liked to torture the boy so much.

I soon picked up a fine lined trail through the thin trees of the forest, keeping my head low and eyes peeled for the trail and the mysterious boy.

I actually traveled in quite a distance. My feet were beginning to throb with pain as I continued to follow the now almost undistinguished trail.

"God…where the hell is he?" I muttered, leaning against a tree. It was hopeless. I knew if I was to venture in any further, I was most likely guaranteed being lost, and that meant no returning back, which would lead to a very pissed off bastard. I wiped my forehead, sliding down the trunk, and plopping myself onto the ground, making the greenery conceal me. I didn't know where to look. This was the furthest I had actually made down the trail.

I had no idea what lie beyond. Nor did I really want to know. I just wanted to see that boy. If it even was a glimpse….No. I probably wouldn't be satisfied with even that. I wanted to know. _why?_ Why was he the victim?

I could hear feet in the distance, coming from the fields, and a muffled yell. I quickly stood, scanning the direction the voices were coming from. I squinted to see a tall figure in the distance. The rustle of vegetation was growing louder, and louder-

"WATCH OUT!" I quickly spun on my heel, just in time to find a ball of pink in my face, and something extremely hard coming in contact with my cheek. I tumbled a good distance and into a tree.

I ached all over. What the fuck was that?

I blinked a few times, making sure the nimbus clouds ahead were real. I rubbed my cheek gingerly before sitting up to see what the hell attacked me.

I was agape. It was _him_. The boy…the dragon boy.

I quickly shut my mouth when I realized he was staring up at me. "Hey…" he muttered, straightening himself.

I was momentarily stunned, the words struggling to connect with my mouth. I couldn't tell if it was because I was hit in the head extremely hard, or because it was actually _real_…I saw a light shade of red brush his cheeks-until the muffled voices were getting louder.

"Come on! This way!" The boy quickly stood up, gripping my wrist, practically dragging me off the ground and into the direction he attacked me from. "Dammit!" he muttered, glancing back past me.

"Where the hell are we going!" I exclaimed, recovering from stubbing my feet on a tree root. The boy took a sharp right, almost throwing me along the straight path. I saw up ahead the large fallen tree trunk that was decomposing between two very large trees. I could hear the voices, and they were very loud now.

I turned back just in time to see we were only meters away from the wood. What the hell was this psychotic boy doing! "Jump!" he said over his shoulder to me.

"What!"

"Jump!" he exclaimed, a wide smile on his face. I shook my head, wide eyed. I was _not_ suicidal, no matter how many times I thought of my death in this wretched place, dying by being stabbed by rotten wood was not one of them.

"Hell no!" I replied, attempting to pull my hand away.

"Suit yourself!" he said, sharp teeth gleaming in the small amount of light the shimmered through.

What the hell was with this boy?

Before I knew it-again- he stopped, stooping low, and in front of me. Me, being totally unaware of either the situation or his movements, rammed into him, falling forward and onto his back. With quickly hands, he grabbed under my knees, so I was being carried piggy back. "What the-"

I instantly flung myself forward as he sprang into the air, gripping onto his scarf with a death grip. I closed my eyes, feeling the boy descending back down and landing with a soft thud.

The voices were gone, either they turned around, or continued down the trail, I couldn't tell. The large log blocked out all sounds coming from the other side. "Ok, you're safe now." I heard the boy speak softly. Unclenching my eyes, I gazed around, seeing nothing but the body in front of me.

I quickly dropped my grip, and in turn he dropped me to the ground, turning around with that same wide toothy smile. "Sorry about that!" said the boy merrily.

Once again, I found myself speechless. What the hell was wrong with me?

I took a good look at the boy. Up close, he was a handsome boy, and no doubt would grow up to be a handsome man. His dark eyes were piercing, even though they had a soft glow to them. He did indeed have very sharp teeth that gave him a more cute/innocent boy appearance. His clothes were definitely ones a previous slave had worn, being sewn so many times over and over. But, the scarf itself didn't seem as worn down as the other pieces of fabric. He had lighter skin, which startled me, since most of the workers here had either sunburns or very tanned skin. He did have a lot of scars. They scattered his body, and like Gray, he had scars that encircled his wrists. Like my very own.

"What is wrong with you?" I spat out, startling the boy. As if instinctively, he took a step back, flinching a hand to his face. And there I noticed it. The burnt skin. Right on his right shoulder. An odd looking branding of sorts, and from the look of it, it was probably infected several times, so it didn't look properly healed. Just the sight of the red and brownish tinted skin sent chills down my spine.

"I…I really didn't…I'm sorry." he dropped his hand along with his head, and suddenly his whole body went down into a bow. "I didn't mean to tackle you."

He remained at my feet, not daring to move an inch. Even though we weren't where anyone could see us, I felt…embarrassed it seemed. Why though? Why?

Why did everything have end up with that one stupid question? I shook my head, tapping the boy on the shoulder with my foot. "Get up you dumbass." the boy's head flickered upwards, staring me in the eye for a brief moment before I turned my gaze away.

There was just something about his gaze that startled me…gave me a strange feeling inside….I really could not explain it at this point.

The boy quickly stood, his smile plastered back onto his face. "Sooo…" he began. I turned away, looking for a reasonable way back to the trail. "What's your name?"

I paused, the thought of slapping the common sense back into his head. "My name is of no importance to you." I retorted over my shoulder. I passed around one of the large trees and around to where the bastard jumped over the log.

I could see the faint trail, and began to stomp through it, trying so hard to keep in my yelps of anger. I turned left, heading back the way I came. And, of course the boy stood in the middle of the trail. "Why are you heading this way?" He asked curiously. He folded his hands behind his head and stared at me with intense eyes. I growled, stomping around the boy.

I ventured away from camp for almost a week, to find this _dragon_ boy who does even look nor move like a _dragon_, and what do I find? A very moronic, undisciplined, dumbass. That's what.

"Are you sure you're heading the right way?" He asked skeptically. My blood began to boil in my veins, and I could even feel it pulsing.

I finally stopped and spun around, prepared to yell about how much of a dumbass he is to be out here, when I realized….

He was gone.

Not a single trace remained of his presence. Nothing. It could have easily been passed as a delusion of sorts.

* * *

"Yeah. He does that a lot."

"What the fuck?" I said in disbelief. I gripped my shirt, about to rip it off, and shred it into the tiny strings.

Gray rolled his eyes, a smile widened at my lack of knowledge. "He doesn't like to be found out. He'll run away from anyone he doesn't trust. He didn't know you, so he was curious." the raven took a large mouthful of water to draw out my anticipation. That bastard. "If you really wanted to meet him that badly, I could have gone out there with yeah."

"Why? Does he trust you?"

He nodded. "Yeah, he trusts me, but that doesn't mean he likes me."

"Than…how does that work out?" I asked confused. If you don't like them, you wouldn't trust a person….would you?

"Well…I guess I should say we're not the _greatest_ friends. We really only get along because Erza makes us."

"And Erza is….?"

He looked at me surprised. "Oh, well…she's the mean, red head in the kitchen. She cooks all the meals we eat. But, anyway she's the way that straightens us out….but…" he sighed a heavy sigh before standing. "Natsu hasn't come out of that forest in 6 months."

For 6 months? "What has he been doing in there?" I too stood up, stretching my legs a little. But, the bastard only shrugged.

"Eh. Who knows." he started towards the barns. "The only thing we know is…it's well…"

"Well what!" I said ticked, catching up to the boy.

"It's like he's guarding something." I raised a brow, so he continued on, "It's like he literally is guarding something. No one has ever seen him in that forest off the trails. But, he can be easily caught on the trails, given the right tools, or I guess you would have to say food in this situation." Gray threw open the small red door on the side of the barn, before looking at me. "If you want to talk to him again, I would sneak into the kitchen and snatch a huge hunk of meat. In no time he's there…but I would watch out for Erza…she won't be too happy if she caught you sneaking around her kitchen." he made a terrified face before shivering. "She can do some real damage if she catches ya."

I nodded my thanks as I watched him disappear within the door.

I stood there contemplating the surprisingly helpful information. The real thing that bothered me though was, why? That one question was driving me insane. Why did I care? Why was I so…intrigued about this ghostly boy? Was it the fact that everyone called him dragon? Or was it the fact….

The fact….that we practically shared the same fate?

"Hey, Zeref?" I snapped out of it when I realized I was heading towards the forest. I had stopped within 20 ft of where the entrance of the trail was. I quickly turned around to see Lucy panting in the afternoon heat. She wiped her brow before straightening herself up, her face grave. "It's time…." she repeated.

Those words were grinding my very sanity. It didn't help that every time she said them, it sounded as though she pitted me, or like she actually wanted to help me.

But, did she ever _really_ help me? No.

I spat on the ground between us.

"God damn that bastard to hell."

* * *

**:) soooooo? comments would be lovely and encouraging! and yay! a little bit more Natsu in this chapter...and his character will still be developing XD XD XD i'm so excited!**


	5. There Really is No Escape

**Be My Slave  
By: Me of course :3 :3**

**HI! It's been a while! I actually got a new laptop, and so it turns out that my old laptop, and my new one don't use the same Word program, so I had to email everything back to myself, and save it on the new laptop...long story short, I hated it :)**

**Well, it's the middle of summer and I'm bored out of my mind, so I think I'll just let you read :) thanks for all the favorites and reviews! Totally makes my day when I see them pop up on my email :) :) :) **

**Also a quick reminder to say this story will be a little slow, since the information on some of the characters are just being released as the manga continues on. I'm trying to keep the OOC to a minimum for some characters, but as you can probably tell Zeref will probably never be like his true self as from the manga. Thank you for putting up with me! :) :) **

**Well here we go!**

**Chapter 5- There Really is No Escape**

* * *

As the saying goes, twos company but threes a party. Well, that was probably the upmost lie in the world. I was the broken wheel of a three wheeler, the sore thumb, the last missing piece of the puzzle. I was the most conflicting element here. Sure, in truth, I blended in so well to this atmosphere; alone, parentless, and barely surviving, but honestly, I wasn't one of them.

Well, at least that's what I tried to tell myself as I walked up the silent stairs of the bastard's house. I could hear the creaking from the sex bed as Lucy and I climbed a step higher. _I don't belong here. Why am I to suffer? That psychotic bastard…_

I finally stood in front of the door, cringing from the low moans of pain from the victim on that bed. No matter how much I heard that noise, it always struck a nerve with me. Lucy gently patted my arm in comfort, but I made no effort to return the slacking gesture. I watched as she turned the knob, and slowly opened the door.

There was panting, very heavy panting. I hadn't recognized the panting though. It wasn't Grey's high husky voice. Nor was it the bastard's evil grunts.

The door swung open even further, revealing two young males I had recognized in the fields. One was a very muscular man with white hair, and scars up and down his spine. He looked tall, but I honestly couldn't tell when he's on all fours with his ass pointed at me. I couldn't tell who he was screwing for his ass was in the way, but all I could see was the other male was probably my age. I took a quick glance around the room and spotted the bastard in one of the comfortable chairs from downstairs, along with a footstool and a side table with his gasoline in a brandy bottle. That twisted _bastard._

His eyes never left the two men on the bed, but he slowly raised his hand and motioned for me to come closer with a wicked smile carved into his face.

I took in a deep breath before stepping into the room. Lucy quietly shut the door behind me, leaving all escape routes closed. I was fucking trapped.

"Zeref…" Zancrow called out to me. He motioned to me once more before letting his hand drop over the side of the chair. I heard a sudden whine escape the younger boy's mouth as the sound of slapping skin increased in rhythm.

"What do you want now?" I replied bitterly. His eyes flashed to me, his smile growing a little bigger, if that was even possible.

He grabbed the bottle and popped it open, chugging a good portion of the bottle before placing it back on the table with a slam. "Go faster you mules." He called out. I turned my attention for the time towards the couple.

"Come on Romeo." The man muttered as he repositioned himself.

The boy whined once more as he sat himself back up into his position. "And, make it louder. I'm losing my interest…and you know what happens when I do." A low chuckle emitted from his chest. Anger began to fuel inside of me. This bastard was going over the line! From the look of it, they had been having sex for the last hour, and I wouldn't be surprised if Romeo couldn't sit when this was done.

"Elfman…harder…please…" he cried out. I could hear his voice shake as he tried to sound convincing.

"Just hold still." The man replied soothingly. And once again, his motion sped.

"Zeref…I need your opinion." Again, he reached for his bottle, but instead of chugging it, he swirled it around with his wrist. "Suppose I want to rid this place of all the boring entertainment." He began, his eyes slowly drifting towards me, "what should I do?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Zancrow bellowed a sudden and loud laugh. "I'm talking about people like them!" He sat up, pointing with the tip of the bottle. "These sorts of people don't entertain me anymore!" He licked his lips. "How should I rid of these mongrels? Should I butcher their limbs one by one? Or should I hang them and let their blood poison the peasants water?" another laugh crackled.

I clenched my fist so hard my nails were digging into the skin. "You want to _kill_ them?" I tried so hard to plant my feet onto the wood floor, but each second grew harder.

"What use are they to me now? They're just broken toys!"

"Don't." I spat between clenched teeth.

Zancrow stopped and narrowed his eyes towards me, an evil look on his face. In a flash, his face was within an inch of my own, starring me down. "What did you say boy?"

"I said, don't kill them." I wanted to punch him until his eyes were embedded deep into the back of his head. "I'm sure Ultear wouldn't like it if you made a bloody mess of all the workers, now would she?"

He instantly plopped himself back into the seat, his eyes still stabbing into me. "Alright. Mules you're released. For now." Elfman instantly pulled out, and picked up the small boy. He crawled off the bed, and grabbed their clothes. As he reached for the door, he shot me a sideways glance; One of gratitude.

"Zeref…" The man groaned. Once again he chugged more fuel from the bottle until it was completely drained. With a quick flick of the wrist, the bottle came clashing with the wall, shattering into many pieces. Before he could even open his mouth, Lucy was already in the room with a broom and dust pan, clearing the mess. "What do you…suppose I do with the mongrels?"

I had to think fast. I didn't want to be responsible for their demise, yet I needed to save my own hide. _Think dammit. Think!_

"If I were you _sir_…I would let them go."

"As in, _release _them?"

"Did I stutter?" I spat. "If they bore you, why put the effort of killing them, when there are so much more sex subjects out there that need to be punished?" I spoke as smooth as I could. At this point, I just wanted to walk away. But, I knew I couldn't. Not yet anyway. "Besides, there's a chance you could recapture them again. Let them spread the word of Zancrow!"

There was an irritating moment of silence. One I thought could be sliced with a knife it was so thick.

"…you're dismissed Zeref. For now." Zancrow said calmly. I snapped my gaze towards him. He looked deep in thought as his gaze was beyond the window at something that must have caught his eye. "You're excused. Now, go."

I nodded, not daring to say another word. I swiftly left. I shut the door behind me, and sighed. Another fuck free day. Lucy stood across the hall from me in front of the bathroom. She had a smile on her face. She motioned for me to follow her into the bathroom. As she disappeared, I contemplated of just running out of the building and into the woods. But, my feet followed slowly after.

I slowly entered the bathroom, and first thing I saw was the giant white haired man sitting on the edge of the bathtub. His smile widened as I shut the door behind me. "Hey, thanks kid." The man said. His voice was deep and somewhat kind, although it sounded worn down from extreme use. Lucy bent over the bathtub and offered a washcloth to the small boy. "You saved us more torture than even I can stand."

"Tell me, why….why does he do this to you people?" I asked shaken. I looked at the young boy in the tub…his skin was bruised all over, and he had several sharp looking bite marks along his neck.

Elfman's smile faded a little as he turned towards Romeo. "No one really knows. But, what we do know is no one can survive without one another here." He reached over and patted the boy's head. He in turn, turned and smiled a toothy grin at Elfman. "We understand one another, and we know we don't mean to hurt one another. When the young ones suffer, us elders look after, and treat them until they can stand on their feet again. It's like our own community, except we're made up of just men."

Romeo stood, and wrapped the towel around his waist, climbing slowly out of the bathtub. He was completely silent, and an awkward aura could be felt around him. Lucy sighed as she handed him his clothes. "It's alright Romeo. Once you're dressed, head back to the bunkhouse and rest, alright?" Lucy encouraged. "Elfman will be sure to get you extra food tonight. How's that?" the boy finally relaxed a little and nodded. He then turned to the older man and threw his arms around him.

"Thanks Elfman…" he muttered before pulling away towards the other side of the room.

"Why don't you come down tonight Zeref, and I'll show you the way of the farm. You'll get to know some people around here, and maybe you'll learn a thing or two about this place you might find handy." He winked before standing up, "When you're done Romeo, I'll be waiting by the front door."

"Alrighty!" the boy called cheerfully as he pulled up some ragged pants. I moved to the side and watched as they were soon out of the room, and all was left was me and the blond.

"Hey, Blondie," I called out, leaning against the wall. "What can you tell me about that dragon boy, and why does everyone call him that?" I asked curiously. She had better of known something. She probably has better ears than I do.

She sighed. "Natsu…is a strange boy." She began, placing the soap back on the tub. "He's a different person. He tried to convince me that he lived the way of the dragon before he was captured. And then he told me he found a giant egg out in the middle of the forest. I…It's like you don't want to believe what he says, but…you somehow know it's true…you know?" she paused and sighed. "He used to be so caring and selfless, but since he found that…that _egg_, it's like he doesn't seem to care about us anymore. He used to stand up for the little guys here…but now he likes to play hide-and-go-seek with Caprico."

"Wait…if you don't think dragons exist…than…what about Caprico? Huh? He can't be human."

Lucy smiled, and began to fold the scattered towels. "He's a family friend of mine. He's just really hairy, or at least that's what my mother used to tell me anyway." She straightened a few more things before turning to me. "Let's take this outside."

I followed her to the garden, carrying her food basket for her as she began to pick at the vegetables. "When did Grey come here then?"

"Most of these people had been here before I came. I've been here for about 4 months now." She pulled up some carrots and tossed them in the basket. "Like Grey, Natsu, Erza, and even Elfman's family had been here longer then I have. I was drug here because of my father. He sent me here for the summer, to keep me in line…or something. But, I've been here with no word from mother or father…" she wiped her brow before sighing. "It's not that bad though. I'm surviving, but I'm sad to say I'm better off more than the others."

"Do you ever plan on leaving this god dammed place?"

Her eyes turned grave before rubbing her left arm. "I…I don't know. Natsu and I always thought of leaving this place, and finding my parents…but I guess I haven't really thought of escaping for some time now…well, at least since Natsu's gone missing into the woods."

I felt the urge to vomit on her. "Are you serious?" I sneered. I wasn't too happy with that reply. "Well, whatever." I dropped the basket at my feet, letting its contents spill onto the dirt. "Rot here for all I care." That blond bitch had a real reason for staying, and I could tell. But, whatever. Her damn loss.

* * *

That evening, I snuck out to the bunk house where Elfman and a few older men were sitting on barrels around an open fire. "Yo, spunk!" He called out. "Glad you could join us." One of the older men glared at me before snapping his head in the other direction. I slowly approached the men, wary of the dark surroundings. I took my place by the white haired man, and stared deep within the fire. "So, have you heard anything from the master?"

I paused. Since the incident, I actually hadn't heard a peep from the psychotic bastard…That was rare. Not even hearing an evil laugh now and then was completely…unreal. The thought hit me hard, sending a chill up my spine. "No…not a word." I moved my gaze up with the flame, watching the tiny specks float away. "Not a sound."

"Well, whatever you did, you gave us a pain free day. And, each of us thanks you greatly." He said, reaching down and patting my shoulder. "You'll be a wise man when you get older." He said proudly.

My mind began racing once more. Nothing was really adding up here. The whole Natsu thing, this whole fucking place was a mystery to begin with, and now Zancrow isn't saying a word to anyone.

There was a sudden rustling noise coming from behind. I snapped my head towards the woods. I could sense a hungry presence lurking nearby. "…do you hear that?" I whispered.

"What?" Elfman asked confused. He too glanced back towards the woods. There was only silence. "It's probably just the local wild bear or something. Don't worry, it won't come into camp." He turned back to the camp and began chatting away, but the noise was getting louder.

"So, Zeref, I heard you're wanting to know how to get out of this joint." A man called out. I slowly pried my gaze away from the dark wood and towards the doorway. There stood a short man. He had to be past his 50s, and his clothes looked just as old. He had a white mustache and what was left of his hair matched. He walked up to the group of men and took his place in the circle.

"Zeref, this is Master Makarov. He's basically the head honcho here. He looks after us all, and deals with all the difficult situations."

"This is a troubling matter Zeref." The old man began, "Not everyone can escape this place. It may not look like it, but outside our walls lies dangerous territory…you'd be lucky to return unscathed."

"What's so dangerous about here?" This old man must be delusional.

"There are many difficult things with this place, but the landscape within a mile radius due East of this place, resides a trench too wide to cross, and maybe several miles deep. As you can see just behind you, that wood can get so thick, you could easily lose yourself and begin wandering for miles, and days. No one goes too far in, except for Natsu." He lifted an eyelid towards my direction. "But that boy is crazy enough to try anything."

"So…why does he go in there?" I asked curiously.

He only shrugged, ticking me off a little. "I've never been too interested in the subject as to why he's in there constantly. But, I wouldn't blame him. He's constantly sought after as Zancrow's most prized slave. He senses great things in that boy, so most likely he wants to damage him as much as he can while he can." He sighed, closing his eyes. "Anywho, you'd get lost in there. Up north, part of the woods expand a bit further, but then you'd run into people." Wait. What?

"People? Isn't that where you'd _want_ to go old man?"

"I only wish. I'm sure that's the town where you were taken to Zeref." He opened his eyes, his gaze solid as a stone. "That place is full of menacing people. Sure, there's the occasional nice folk such as us, but they're the slaves. And if you're caught not wearing their clothes, or with a police escort... There is no doubt you'd be snatched away, especially since there would be no price tag on your head." I swallowed hard. "They may have the same punishments as Zancrow, but we live in paradise compared to the captured there."

The image of all the people standing above me appeared as clear as the sky as I watched the children disappear one by one. Each face sketched back in my scared mind.

"To our West, we have more woods, although it seems on that portion of the woods, lives the vilest and dangerous animals known to this region. You'd easily be taken down."

"Is there anywhere safe around here? You know? Like a hidden trail or something?" I glanced around the circle. These men were, well men! They should at least know a trick or two up their sleeves.

But, all I saw were the turning of heads. Pussys.

"Honestly, the only safe passage to anywhere is through the dirt road Zancrow uses to go to town. But, there's a gate at one point, and they only recognize Zancrow's vehicle. The wouldn't let you pass. And, it's too high to climb. Impossible from the very first step." Makarov spoke with a heavy heart.

"There has to be a way around…." I muttered. I was growing frustrated…I mean, what was with everyone today? It was like they gave up all hope the minute they stepped on this land.

"We've learned to accept the challenge of staying alive here," said Elfman. "It's not like we wanted to Zeref. We were all victim at one point too…but honestly, we need to help one another, until the time comes when we can be free."

"Free?" I sneered. "Free?" I turned to the dark eyes of Elfman. "What will you do when you're 'free'?"

He smiled down at me, a gestured that pissed me off even more. "I'm going to go see my sisters again." He turned his gaze to the fire. "They were brought here with me when were first captured, but an unfortunate accident sent both my sisters off to the hospital. I get a word from them every now and again, saying that they're waiting for me outside these walls."

"How do you keep in contact with them so often?"

He nodded towards the house. "That Caprico guy. He's actually only here to keep an eye on Lucy. He's technically her butler, but if Zancrow were to find out, they'd both be in a world of pain. But, anyhow…if you catch him at the right time, where no one is watching or around, you can slip him what you need, like the letters for example, he'll do what you ask. Lucy asked him the favor, since she wanted to keep in touch with her parents."

"But, I though she hadn't heard anything from them since she's been here…."

He sighed, "Yeah, that's true, but she'll send letters out every week to them. Don't know if they ever get their destination, but it seems to make Lucy happy, so it makes Caprico happy."

Makarov suddenly stood and dusted his clothes. "Zeref…you better head back to the house. If you're caught missing, you'd get severely punished."

I nodded, slowly standing up and stretching. "Come back any time Zeref. You're welcome around our table." Said Elfman rather annoyingly happy. I only shrugged it off and trudged towards the house. No one else spoke as I left, but I could clearly hear the rustling of the trees growing louder. I paused, glancing backwards towards the woods.

The bushes remained stone still…but….I could feel the eerie, hungry presence still lurking in the shadows of the tall trees. I slowly began to back away towards the house. Not because I didn't want to dive head first and know what the hell was going on, but because I wasn't ready.

Whether it be Natsu, or wild animal, I didn't stay long to know.

* * *

**I wish I could have written a little more, but I want to develop the next idea for the next chapter (; that way the thinking process gets better and better :) :)**


	6. More Pain and Heavenly Tears

**Be My Slave**  
**By: Me!**

**:3 :3 :3 I get so nice reviews! Thanks you guys! And to those you just read, I hope you're enjoying the story! I hope you'll continue reading, and hopefully leave a review what you think! Postive comments really do help me think (I know. So cliche, right XD XD)**

**Anyway, another chater of Be My Slave! I'm surprised, there aren't any other ZerefXNatsu stories. At all. Whatsoever. But I understand. Zeref is a newish character, but really! I think this pairing is quite cute! X3 but that's me. I was so into the story, I typed a few extra pages! woot woot!**

**Ok, so heads up. So I've been thinking about Zeref's character, and I want to know your guy's opinions. Do you think Zeref is totally out of his element? I know by the end of the story, I want him more like the character he is in the Manga. but, do you think he's a little over the top? Especially for a ten year old? I would love to hear your opinons so please leave a comment! I would very much appricate it!**

**Anyway, please enjoy the newest chapter for Be My Slave!**

**Chapter 6: More Pain and Heavenly Tears**

* * *

Over the next few days, I snuck out at night and listened to the hobos stories each night as they gathered around the fire. Most of them were obviously fake or based off of another story, but some I found rather odd or interesting for that matter. I started taking a little notebook too, just in case someone spoke of something actually useful or intelligent. I even wrote down the notes Makarov told me the first night I was out here. I also would jot down notes about the noises I heard coming from the wood. I didn't have a whole lot, but I knew it was only the beginning. The beginning of my freedom. Its first chapter.

I unfortunately had to ask Grey questions as well. I mean he knew the most besides Makarov. He was a valuable source to be tapped. Although, it was rather annoying how eager he was to answer any of my questions, and then giving me excessive details about _everything._ But, he was the one I got the most information about Natsu, so I wasn't going to complain much.

"So…why are you asking so many questions?" he asked curiously. We were in charge of starting the fire tonight. I should actually correct myself. _I_ was in charge of starting the fire. _He _decided I needed help and jumped right on the happy train.

I swore a vein popped out of my forehead as I tossed more dead grass into the fire. "For the last time Gray, I'm just curious. Get your god damned brown nose out of the gutter and leave me alone." I huffed. I threw one last small pile of grass before taking the match and tossing it into the pile. A small fire rose from the barrel, and once it got going, I added a few more small pieces of wood to feed it. "Besides why should I explain myself to you?"

The boy seemed a little hurt as he sat down. "I just wanted to help ya." He took in a deep breath and turned to me as I sat down. "I want to leave this place too! Take me with you!"

I was surprised, yet even more irritated than before. "What? What the fuck gave you the idea I'm leaving this place?"

His eyebrows narrowed. "Ever since you've been here, you've wanted to leave this place. You can't fool me Zeref. I've been helping you out, so the least you can do is take me with you." I growled in protest.

"We'll see." I spat, tossing another log into the barrel. We sat in silence for a while, which I was glad for, that was until the bushes behind me began to rustle again. We both turned to the forest behind us, and stared deeply into the dark.

"Natsu…" he whispered.

Hearing the name made my spine tingle. "What?"

Gray nodded towards the trees. "Natsu is waiting outside in the forest. He smells the fires. He's waiting for the stories."

I turned towards him confused, "…he…he's here for the _stories_?" He nodded, unblinking.

"Yes." He slowly turned his head to me, "Wouldn't you get lonely if you lived by yourself in the woods?"

"Then why doesn't he come out here? Obviously he's a coward if he doesn't even step out ten feet to join everyone." Gray shrugged.

"Maybe he likes to be alone. I know I would too if I thought everyone out here was insane."

"And you _don't_?"

"Honestly the only insane person I think is that stupid Zancrow guy. "We're all perfect compared to him." I must admit, the nudist had a point. It was rare enough I actually agreed with him too. "Any who, no one bothers with him anymore. We've tried to get him out, but he refuses to leave the woods unless forced. He's just a stubborn mule."

There was more twitching from the bush, and then a louder rustling sound before it stopped again. "Hey!" I called out to the bush. Silence. "Hey, Natsu I'm talkin' to ya, you pink ass!" There was a little rustle but not much else. I growled. He could at least respond like a normal person instead of being a goddamned coward.

"Just leave him alone. There's nothing you can do for him." Gray replied, tossing another small log into the fire. "He's a loner."

I ignored his comment and walked over to the bush where he hid. "Hey! Natsu! I'm talking to you dammit!" I called out again, looking into the deep dark abyss of the forest. "I know you can hear me! Come out here like a real man and face me!" I yelled. I could hear the rustling of trees off in the distance, and the calling of the night owl perched nearby. I growled. "You know, abandoning your friends is sick! If you want to listen to the stories, why don't you just come out here and sit with us! No one's gonna hate you unless you keep cowarding like a fool!"

There was only silence.

I gripped my hand into a fist in frustration. _Damn_ that bastard!

I heard footsteps behind me. "He's not coming out." Gray spoke softly. "Leave the kid be." He placed a hand on my shoulder. "He has his own problems to deal with." I sucked in a deep breath of air before sighing. I turned with my back to him, slowly dragging after the boy.

During the campfire, I hardly heard a word spoken, unless I was spoken too. My mind was too frazzled with Natsu to talk or listen much. When Makarov deemed it late enough, all the men stood putting out the fire before heading inside. "Zeref, you better head back to the mansion. Or are you worried about Natsu?"

What? Me? Worried about _Natsu? Worried?_ "To hell no!" I spat, crossing my arms and turning away. The old fart chuckled, patting my back.

"Well, you know, it's a curious thing, that boy." He began, turning towards the bunk house, "I've always kept an eye on the boy, but sine you've been here, this is the most he's ever stayed near camp." He began humming as he started towards the house.

"Hey, old man?" I found myself calling out. My gaze remained on the dark shady forest, locked at one point, hesitant to move, "Do….do you think he'll ever come out?"

"He will, when the time comes…" I wanted to ask him what the hell that meant, but he shut the door before I had the chance.

I was left alone. The lights in the house shortly went off after he shut the door, and the light from the moon was bright.

The bush began to twitch again, but this time a little bit more violently. I heard a groan and a hiss before suddenly, a semi-lit figure emerged from bush, picking at his scarf. He suddenly froze, slowly turning towards me. We stared eye to eye for what seemed like forever. He slowly dropped his scarf and smiled wide. "Hey!"

I went brain dead, or I was retarded or something….my mind just…turned off. I couldn't believe who was standing in front of me, of all people, and with a fucking smile on their face. I slowly felt my arm raise, no connection to my mind whatsoever, and give a little flick, signaling a hello. If possible, he beamed even brighter before turning and disappearing into the woods.

* * *

"What. The. Fuck." I muttered, as I drug myself across the dirt lot and towards the barn. The sun beat down hotter than usual, and the best shading, besides the house, was the barn. It reeked, but it was better than listening to Ultear bitch at Levy again for screwing up the scents in the house. I opened the barn door and quickly shutting it, finding Gray at his usual post of grooming the animals in the afternoon. I hopped onto the fence and watched as Gray patted the rear of a giant horse, making it skedaddle to the opposite side. The shirtless boy turned and smiled as he spotted me, quickly hanging up the brush and stepping out the gate.

"This is odd, you being here." He stated as he locked the door. "So what's up?" He started towards the other end of the barn, where the saddles were kept.

"The bitch is yelling again, and I can't stand it." I simply replied, leaning against the fence. I watched from the corner of my eye as he grabbed a blanket, and headed to a stall nearby.

"Oh really? That's unlike you."

"Unlike me what?" I snipped. I crossed my arms, and glared, annoyed as usual. The dumbass recently started not explaining his words, which, in turn of course, pisses me off. He sighed, opening the gate.

"You wouldn't come here. I usually meet you on your front steps."

"So?"

"So…why are you here?" he popped right out the gate, fetching the matching saddle.

I huffed. "It's fucking hot out. Got a problem?" Gray shrugged, opening the gate again.

"Not if bothers you." Damn that boy was grinding my nerves….but I really didn't want to go back to the house. Not until I was "needed". Bastard. There was a loud whinny coming from Gray's stall. I could hear him talking soothingly to the animal, as though it was his girlfriend, or a baby. I rolled my eyes before turning to the stall. Gray suddenly appeared, leading the horse by the reigns. He walked until he stopped in front of me, patting the horse's head. "This here is Bob."

"Bob?" I eyed the horse with disgust. It suddenly whinnied again, stomping the ground. I quickly stepped back, pressing my back against the fence. "What the fuck?"

"Easy girl. Easy." He muttered, pulling on the reigns and patting its neck.

"Bob is a goddamn _girl?_" I complained, growing unsteadied as the horse began to shift.

Gray shrugged. "I really don't know the story behind the name, but Bob is a gentle horse. She wouldn't hurt a fly." He turned back to the horse with a gentle smile on his face.

"Ok….why tell me this?" I began to shift away, but the horse with its…buggy weird looking eyes, followed. The boy chuckled.

"It's alright. She likes you." He took a step towards me and grabbed my arm. "Come on."

"What!" I shrieked, trying to pull away. The horse grew a little more unsteady.

"Calm down. She feels you." Gray warned, muttering horse gibberish before pulling me along.

What was with this bastard?

He drug us to the coral, where he opened the gate and lead her through, letting go of my arm so he could tie the reigns to the fence. "Alright. Now we wait."

"What?"

He grinned, hopping onto the top of the fence. "It's Wednesday." Again, the boy doesn't explain anything. "In about two minutes, someone will come out here. Just wait."

The horse yanked on its leash again, startling me. I moved further away, but Gray kicked out his foot, making me stop about five feet away from the wild beast. I snapped my head towards him, about to open my mouth and let him have a piece of my mind, but a girl's voice interrupted me. "Gray. Ultear says she doesn't need to ride today." I peered through the wooden fence to recognize Levy, with a small smile on her face. "Please continue." She bowed before scurrying back inside.

"That' our cue." He said, jumping down from the fence. He untied the reigns and climbed up the saddle and into the seat. He then reached down for my hand. "Come on! Before she sees."

"What!" I exclaimed he glanced around before silencing me with a "shh".

"Dammit boy! Come on!" I looked around. No one was insight. It was just the two of us. I shook my head, backing a little when Bob attempted to nudge me. "She wants you to join today. Hurry! Zancrow's coming!"

"Shit!" I instantly grabbed his hand, and with a swift yank, I was sitting behind him in the saddle. With a flick, the horse was off through the gate and around the back of the barn in a soft trot. I gripped on to Gray for dear life. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Relax. We're fine. Nothing is going to happen."

"That's what you think you bastard!" I took in another deep breath, "Zancrow really wasn't there, was he?" He chuckled.

"Nope."

"Then what the fuck am I here for?" The horse began a small decent, freaking me out even more.

"Because, sometimes we need a change of routine now and then, right?"

"And a horseback ride is the way to go?"

"Why not?" The horse's hooves stomped through the dirt and the brush and the plants with ease as we continued through somewhere. I cracked open an eye, confused as to where we were.

We were in the forest. The thinner part I should add. The light could truly be seen through the treetops, and everything here seemed to be so…_alive_. I slowly pulled away, glancing around the forest. I spotted so many animals, most I had never seen in my life, like a big rat with a fluffy tail, or a huge horse with these horn type things on its head. Gray had to explain to me that they were called a squirrel and a moose. They were some of the meat they hunted during the fall. He also started to explain some of the plants that were around us. Especially the dangerous ones, since they seemed to grow in abundance in this part of the woods. Before I knew it I found we were out of the forest once more, and faced the house on the far side of the corral.

"You can let go you know." He muttered, prying apart my arms. I felt my cheeks flush as I let them cautiously fall to my sides. I hadn't realized how tight I was holding on to his stomach. I practically had a death grip on him, and where I had held him was completely soaked with sweat.

"Sorry," I muttered, turning away. I looked along the far side, scanning the horizon, It seemed as though it was feeding time, and all the men were out either cleaning or feeding. Along the fence Marakov watched with squinted eyes as Gray lead us back into the corral.

"Do you want to try and ride her by yourself?" I froze, staring down at the horse.

"M-m-me?" I asked astounded. He nodded.

"Why not? I don't see the harm. She's a very well trained horse."

"Do you want me on my _deathbed_ Fullbuster?" I asked, grabbing the saddle for dear life.

"No, I just want you to ride the horse." He retorted, "I don't get why you're such a big coward. It's just a horse."

That struck a nerve, grinded it, and blew the dust away. The horse began to shift uneasily underneath me, but I was too frustrated to care. "Give me the damn rope." I snapped, holding out my hand. Gray smirked as he handed me the reigns.

"Take it easy. And, whatever you do, don't-" I flicked the reigns, making the horse go at an easy trot. "Zeref! Take her easy!" He yelled, walking around to greet us near the gate. I made her turn though, making her go a little faster. "Hey, Zeref! Take her easy!" he yelled. That bastard…I was going to show him. I was no coward.

I flicked the reigns harder, making her go at a running pace. I rounded the corral once, ignoring the now pant less boy. I flicked the reigns again, the horse was speeding faster than what I was comfortable with.

That's when I froze.

Zancrow stood at the side of the corral that was facing the direction I was heading. Straight to him. Dead. On. I freaked, and lost grip of the reigns. I panicked. My heart was racing, and the closer I got to the bastard, the wider his smile. The horse continued faster, and faster towards the fence. I gripped the saddle in fear. I could jump, but even I knew my timing would suck and I would easily kill myself. So I hung on.

"ZEREF!" Gray called out. With a sudden jolt, the horses rear raised into the air, sending me flying through the air, over the fence, over Zancrow's hair, and smack onto the ground. A sudden searing pain filled my senses as the wind knocked out of me, and I blacked out.

* * *

Oh god I hurt like hell. The first thing I knew was pain. It covered me head to toe and I felt sick to my stomach. The next thing I knew, was there was screaming. It sounded as though it came from everywhere, and it filled my eardrums and pounded my head even more. Finally, I knew that someone had to goddamn pay for this. And that someone would get it and get it hard.

It grew silent for a moment, and I could hear a soft sigh. "Finally," a girl muttered. I felt something cool touch my head, instantly cooling my body. I slowly flickered my eyes open to a dimly lit room. Lucy sat next to me with some bottles in her hands. "Oh, you're awake. That's good." She greeted. "I'm glad you've finally come around."

"Where the hell am I?"

She sighed once more, and soon after more yelling began. "You're in the bunk house." She said softly. She placed one of the bottles on the floor and patted my hand. "But, don't worry. You're safe here."

"What the….heeelll?" I asked confused.

"Well, Ultear doesn't want the small of blood in the house so…you're kicked out here for the time being."

I attempted to sit, but my head was instantly spinning the minute I raised my head. "You shouldn't do that. You have a concussion. I wouldn't want to move for a while."

"What else is fucking wrong with me, besides the fact that I'm still here?" I muttered, squeezing my eyes closed once more.

"Um…well the only other serious damage was…your right leg…it's broken."

"What?" My eyes snapped open. "you've got to be fucking messing with me."

"No…I wish I was though…the doctor said it was a minor fracture…but…" she hesitated, "but he didn't say how long it will take."

I turned my head, an uneasy feeling settling in my stomach. "Ok, but…where did the doctor come from?"

"From town. He was sent here immediately. He bandaged you and everything."

"But, wouldn't this place be…you know…revealed for what it truly is?"

She smiled, "No. Apparently the doctor bought you as the son of the Masters. I thought the doctor was an idiot myself, since you look like neither one of them." She chuckled. "A few of the older workers were told to keep working, while the younger boys were told to hide in here. The doctor had to bandage you in the house, but once he left, Ultear grew furious, and they've been arguing ever since."

She picked a cup off the ground, and poured the contents of the bottle into it, before handing the greenish liquid to me. "Drink. It sucks, but it's supposed to heal you faster. That's what the doctor told me a least." I held it there, not knowing what to do; sit up or just waterfall it into my mouth. I think she caught on, because she helped me sit up and drain it down my throat. She was right. It tasted like shit, but if it was going to heal me faster, I wasn't going to pass it. "I'll be back in the morning to give you another dose. Until then, please try not to move much. If you need to use the bathroom, Elfman offered to help you out." I nodded, closing my eyes.

I attempted to sleep, but it doesn't mean I did. I struggled to doze off. I even attempted to count sheep. Nothing worked. I guess I was really a night owl. I could hear the men out near the fire, and the local night owls. I sighed, attempting to sit up again. It was a complete failure though, sending myself back down to my pillow.

Tonight was going to be a bitch.

* * *

I finally managed to doze, maybe at like four in the morning when all the early birds began to rise. They slowly filed one by one out the door, where I could hear their small talk outside while they took a piss. After that, I knew I couldn't go to sleep. It sucked. Instead, I listened to bunk house. A lot of men snored, and surprisingly, it was very cool in here. Nicer than the house already. I sighed, turning my gaze to the bunk above me. I finally began to relax after a while…until the next group of people woke up from their peaceful slumbers. Including Elfman.

"Good morning." He said softly so not to disturb the others. "You need to go?" Now that I thought about it…

"Nah. I'm good." I said blankly, continuing my stare.

"Alright. Well, just tell me when you do." I nodded and he finally left.

I listened and watched as more people filed out of the bunk house. Some reentered, but they only left with a hat or their pants. Finally, Lucy returned as she promised with the green liquid.

"Good morning Zeref. Sleep well?" she asked as she pulled up the small stool.

"None at all."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Why the hell are you apologizing you idiot. You did nothing." Imbecile. Bitch. _Dumbass._

She smiled, "Well, at least your attitude hasn't changed." She replied as she began pouring the liquid.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" She only chuckled, handing me the cup.

"Try and sit up. Hopefully you've healed a little enough to sit at least."

"Then take the damn cup." I muttered. She did, and watched curiously as I fought my way up to an upright position. I was breathing heavily for a moment, and my head throbbed like none other, but I was up, and not dizzy…for now.

"Good. Now drink up." She handed me the cup again, before standing. "I'll be right back with some water."

"Whatever." I looked inside the cup. I couldn't see the color of the liquid…it just looked black from the lack of lighting. "Bottoms up." I muttered, chugging the thing down quickly. I shivered from the horrid taste before sighing in relief. Whatever this stuff was, it was working well. I didn't have to wait much longer for the blonde to come in with a small pale of water.

"Here…" she grabbed the cup and scooped some water, swirling it in the cup before tossing the water out the door. She then grabbed her apron and cleaned it before scooping more water again. "Drink. Today you'll need to drink a lot of water. The doctor had said you were dehydrated as well, and with the lack of blood that's dangerous." I nodded, again chugging the liquid down. I handed her the cup and she set it aside. "You'll have to take the medicine again at noon and once more in the evening. Erza is making a nutritional breakfast for you, and it should be out here shortly." I sighed.

"Why the hell are you doing this for me?"

She huffed, "I'm sorry that you were almost on the brink of death for being a _dumbass_." She remarked bitterly, crossing her arms. It only lasted a minute though, and she easily broke down, sitting back on the stool, a sad and worried look on her face. "I was worried…you wouldn't make it…I had seen it yesterday…you landed pretty hard on your head…hit a rock…a small one though, so it didn't do too much, but enough to cut your head open….I was afraid…Zan- I mean…Milord…was going to drag you inside into the bedroom." She shook her head, pressing her palms to her eyes.

"Wait…why…to the bedroom?"

She sniffled before wiping the tears. "He…he looked…aroused when he saw the blood Zeref…it was horrifying, I would know. I've seen that face before…he doesn't make it a whole lot…but when he does…it's disturbing…Ultear had to tear him away from the corral and into the house…that's mainly when their arguing began. She was worried you would die. So she had me call the doctor." She shook her head.

"Blood?...turns him on?" she nodded.

"Not very often…but yes…" she had settled down a bit and took in a deep breath. "but now he's forced to wait for whatever plans he had for you because of that cast. But, I'm more worried that he won't."

Levy scurried in through the door, and stumbled when she saw us. "Lucy! Come on! Ultear needs us, now!" Lucy nodded, standing.

"I'll be back. If not, I'll make sure someone else helps you with your medicine."

"Whatever, now go." She nodded quickly before escaping through the door. "She's such a pain…" I muttered as I laid back down.

Suddenly there was a loud boom, and the door was unnecessarily kicked, startling the shit out of me. "Rise and shine! Your breakfast has arrived!" announced a loud booming voice. I sat up as quick as I could and watched as short, red head girl walked through the door with a small tray in her hands. My jaw dropped in disbelief. She had a smile on her face, but the odd part was, she wore a thin chest plate when all the other maids wore white aprons. "Good morning." She greeted. She placed the tray in front of me, and attacked me with her arms, pulling me hard against the chest plate. Luckily she tucked my head under her chin, though my arm felt crushed against the metal. "You poor thing. You need to eat to gain strength." She purred. I didn't know what to say. She instantly pulled me away, and sat down where Lucy did, offering me some eggs from my plate. I looked down at the food. It was the same exact meal I ate inside. I turned to her and stuck out my tongue in disgust.

"Ew. I hate eggs."

With a sudden jerk of her hands, she gripped my nose and shoved the fork in my mouth. "Now…eat…." She said with a fierce glare, "It's good for you…" I couldn't do much, considering I was afraid she'd rip off my nose if I didn't. So I reluctantly obeyed, and chewed with care before swallowing. "Good. One bite, many more to go."

You've got to be fucking kidding me.

She force fed me the eggs until they disappeared and then shoved the cup of milk into my hand. "So, you're Erza, right?" I asked, eyeing the milk suspiciously.

"Yes, and you must be Zeref. I've heard many things about you…" she said, taking the tray back.

"Oh really? What kinds of things?"

I sniffed the milk before taking a sip. It was a little warm, but I had to admit it was delicious. "The usual, but mainly the fact you're trying to escape this place." I almost choked on my milk.

"So what? At least I'm trying to do something." I chugged it down and swiftly shoved the cup into her hand.

"Well, it isn't a horrible idea, but I'm afraid I have to stop you there." What…what the fuck? Her smile faded, and I could feel the tension tighten. "It's dangerous to leave this place Zeref. No one has ever left. Whatever you decide, I'm going to have to say it must only remain an idea.

I almost wanted to spit in her direction. "You only say that because you've given up hope."

"That may be so," she said, turning to the door, "but I'm not going to turn my back on my friends for a false hope. They're my family. I'm not going to leave them behind. She glanced over her shoulder before giving me a small, saddened smile, "I don't want any of my family to die in vain. That's including you Zeref." And with that she left.

I was truly stunned.

It…it couldn't be…I had no family. They weren't related to me. So…why would she care about me? She hadn't even _met_ me before today, and suddenly we're cut out of the same cloth.

I tried to push her words to the back of my mind as I swung my feet around to the edge of the bed. I ran my hand through my hair and sighed. She was one crazy bitch. I had to give her that.

* * *

I managed to waddle outside the bunk house to see everyone already at work. It was hard though, to keep my balance, so I was constantly taking small steps to stay steady. "Zeref." I heard the familiar old voice call out. He came around the red barn next to the bunk house with a smile on his face. Makarov was carrying a stick of sorts with him, it looked like a walking stick, except at the top, it had another piece of wood attached that curved upwards. "Here, I wanted to give you this." He handed me the stick. "It's called a crutch. Usually the injured use it to help steady themselves instead of their hurt foot. Just tuck it under your arm and try it out." I looked at him confused, but nevertheless did what I was told. I slipped the rounded piece of wood under my armpit and placed some of my weight on it. "Come on, try and walk you sissy." He said with a big smile as he turned back around.

I growled. That old bastard….

Carefully I swung the crutch out like a foot, placing my weight on it as I attempted to move my foot…well let's just say I landed on my ass. Makarov appeared above with a smirk on his face. "It's not that hard you know. But, I guess you'll just get used to it…or maybe two would be better…I'll go talk to Mocao and see if another one can be made." He nodded, leaving me behind to lie there in the dirt.

"YOU DIRTY OLD MAN!" I yelled shaking the stick in the air.

I let the stick fall to my side and stared up at the sky. It was beginning to look a little grey, which meant a thunderstorm was to be brew here shortly. Damn it. Just my luck. On top of that, I really had to piss badly, but I wasn't going to drop my boxers out here. No way in hell. Especially with the older coots just sitting around and staring. I huffed, sitting up. I used the stick as a leverage as I managed to pull myself up to my good foot.

I attempted walking again, but only managed to hubble to the barn that was three feet away. Instead of the stick, I used the wall to help pull myself to the corner nearest to the house. From there, I basically hopped (falling a few times hard on my face) before I made it to the huge steps of the house. I was about to open the door when Levy appeared through the screen with a worried look. She shook her head violently, "Don't! Ultear is pissed! She doesn't want you near here!" she exclaimed. "You better go, before she sees you!"

"LEVY!" we heard the bitch cry out. She cringed a little before motioning for me to leave.

"Go!" I groaned, hopping down the steps and back towards the barn.

When I thought I had gotten used to hopping, my knee gave in, making me fall face first onto the ground. "Dammit!" I attempted to stand again, but fell back onto the ground. "Fuck it!" I really had to go by now. I even began crawling towards the nearest bush. As I reached out, a pair of two feet stopped in front of me. "Get out of my way!" I barked, continuing forward.

The boy suddenly crouched down, and grabbed my arm, pulling me up with ease. He placed my arm over his shoulder, and hugged me at the waist, and began dragging me towards the bunk house. I glanced over to see who the god damn sinner was, but was surprised to see Gray with a hard expression on his face. "Come on. I'll get you to the bunks." He muttered. I began to wriggle away, but his grip on my waist tightened, not helping my bladder so much.

"Damn it Gray! Let go, I wasn't heading to the bunk house!" I exclaimed. He hesitated his step, but continued anyway.

"Then where were you heading? Attempting your escape again?" he remarked bitterly. I broke my hand from his grip, and pulled his head down into a head lock. I was surprised when he didn't squirm or fight back. "Go ahead, do whatever you want. I deserve it." He said.

"Don't tell me what to fucking do!" I yelled, shoving him away. In the process, I lost my balance, and began to fall backwards. He shot out his hand with a reflex I've never seen before, and caught me under my shoulders.

"Take it easy. Don't overdo it." He spoke calmly with soft tones. This wasn't something I would expect from him. It was pissing me off.

"Just lay me back on the ground and let me crawl. I was doing just fine."

"No. Just tell me where you were going. I'll get you there." The tension in my bladder was growing tremendously. I growled in frustration but sighed in defeat. I didn't think I'd make it much longer.

"Fine. Take me to the nearest bush. I have to piss." He smiled a little as he helped me back to his side.

"To the nearest bush we go."

"Just shut the fuck up and walk pornostar."

He took me to the bushes outside the bunk house. I attempted to stand on one foot, but it didn't work. I had to piss though, so I forced him to hold me up, but gripping my shirt. But he almost made me fall flat on my face. So he just placed his hands on my waist as I began to piss.

But, I felt him move a little closer to me, inch by inch. He was eventually close enough that I could feel his breath on my neck. The odd, creepy sensation sent shivers down my spine…and into my lower region. I felt my cheeks turn hot as the sensation grew a little more each time he breathed down my neck. "I…I want to apologize…" he said quietly. Just loud enough for me to hear. "I…I didn't mean to call you a coward…I shouldn't have pushed you. I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…You're this way because of me…" he tightened his grip a little more on my waist. "I'll make up for it. I promise…just please…give me another chance." I could hear the small pleads for forgiveness in his voice. I had finished peeing a moment ago, but I only stood there, his words running through my mind. _Give me another chance_….

I tucked myself back in and turned, throwing my arm around his shoulder. "Take me to the barn." I muttered, looking up at the clouds. They were growing darker and swifter. It wouldn't be long until the thunder began to roll.

He stopped at the entrance to the barn and let go of me. With the stick, I wobbled horribly over to the stall of Bob. The dark brown horse walked up to the gate and stuck her head over the fence and inches in front of my face. "Why the hell do you ask for forgiveness?" I asked as calmly as I could. Gray stopped right behind me, silent for a moment before I could hear his feet shift in the hay.

"We're friends…right?" he sounded weak and fragile, unlike the nudist I knew. "I don't want something so stupid to get in between us."

I turned on my heel and narrowed my eyes. He jumped a little from my sudden raged response. "Breaking my leg was _stupid?_ You think cutting my skull open on a stone was _stupid?_" Each question grew louder. I took a small step towards him as he began to coward. "You think me bleeding onto the ground, me using this goddamned crutch for support; Having to have you help me _stand_ SO I COULD GOD DAMN _PISS_, IS STUPID!" He instantly rebounded, his own death glare radiating from his eyes.

He stabbed my chest with a finger, taking a step so we were face to face. "It wasn't my _god damn _fault that _you _took my teasing too far you fucking pessimist!" he shouted right back. "You need to learn how to back off and take a joke for a change! I only meant for you to _walk_ Bob to the god damn fence so we could put her in her god damn stall!" I shoved him away, almost throwing myself off balance.

"You're the god damned _imbecile_ who decided that me riding on the god damned _beast_ was such a _gooood_ idea in the first place you bitch! If you didn't drag me along, none of this would have happened, and I would be able to kick your ass right now!"

I took the stick and swung it at his thigh. He fell from the sudden pain, and quickly sat up when he realized I was coming after him. "Zeref! Don't do it!" He yelled, holding out his hand. Fear was now stricken in his eyes. I wanted him to suffer. Feel _my God. Damn. Pain._

"And why not you sleazy bastard!"

"You'll end up just like him!" He yelled. There was a loud crackle, followed by a booming echo. The sound of patter on the roof drenched out all other sounds.

I froze in my place, the crutch held high in the air, with my eyes locked dead on with his. "What did you just say?" I muttered.

"You'll end up like Zancrow if you swing down that crutch at me. You'll end up like your worst enemy." My heart almost stopped when the realization hit me.

The crutch fell out of my hands as my arms dropped to my sides. I landed on my knees with a soft thud. I was shaking all over, and I could hardly think….all I could do was stare at the ground between us in fear…shock…maybe even sadness. I felt my neck choking and slowly the tears fell down my face. Gray slowly sat up on his knees, and threw his arms around my neck, pulling me into his shoulder. He didn't speak a word. And, he didn't have to; I could feel his pity and surprising sadness as he hugged me tighter.

There was another loud crack, as the rain poured down even harder.

They say when the sky cries…It's actually God's tears crying for the world.

So even that bastard felt sorry for my existence too….

* * *

**Soooooooo? Seems a little More GrayXZeref \\3\\ but I _am_ a sadist after all...things will unravel in the chapters to come! Which means...a gaurenteed 6/7 more chapters! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH~ that is if everything goes as planned...**

**Please review! Thank you you guys!**


	7. I can be too kind sometimes

**Be my slave**  
**by: me!**

**anywho, I had some spare time over the last several days because of the lack of internet, so i'm able to post this chapter sooner than intended! I'm currently working on the next chapter and i've almost completed it too! Yay!**

**Thanks to all those who are sticking with the story and reading this! I appreciate all reviews and thoughts that you might have! I actually am having trouble with how this story will end, but i think all solutions (i've thought of) would work as long as I keep going this direction with the story! Please tell me what you think! I know this story sort of jumps place to place, but that's my train of thought for ya! XD**

**Anywho, chapter 7? wow amazing!**

**Chapter 7: I can be too kind sometimes**

* * *

_You'll end up like Zancrow if you swing down that crutch at me. You'll end up like your worst enemy._

Your worst enemy.

Zancrow.

We would have been just the same. If I had swung that crutch down at the boy, I would have become what I hated most in this world.

_Zeref! Don't do it!_

"Zeref? Are you ok?" My eyes snapped open and a shady figure sat in front of me, his head resting on my mattress, using his arm for a pillow. My heart and my breaths were racing. I was sweaty and I felt extremely cold. I slowly sat up, taking a deep breath before exhaling. "You sounded as though you had a nightmare," said Gray. "Wanna talk about it?" I ran a hand through my hair. My skin felt wet and sticky from my sweat, making me cringe a little. I would have to bathe tomorrow, if Ultear wasn't in the house.

"Nah. Why don't you head back to your bed. I'm fine." I muttered, wiping my face off on my blanket. "You need sleep too."

"Are you sure you won't need me?"

"I'm sleeping. What else can I do?"

He slowly sat up, and with a quick step up onto my mattress, he flung himself onto the top bunk before popping his head over the side. "I'm trading places with Jet until your leg heals. If you need me, I'm up here."

"Whatever." He slowly moved back onto his mattress, and a few seconds later, all was silent again. I growled, forcing myself to lie back down as well. I closed my eyes, but only thing I could see, was Gray's terrified face. _Don't do it!_

I tried turning, but with a cast, it was nearly impossible to find a comfortable position. I finally gave up on that, and forced my eyes shut again, but this time I tried to think of something else. I don't know why, but I began to think of the trees. Well, the plant life. It was late summer already, and soon most of the plants would be ready to harvest. And summer wans into fall, and days turn into weeks, and soon…soon…

It would be my birthday. My first birthday without my parents. _Welcome home sweetie. How was school?_ Mother….

_The teacher told us you were mocking the other children again today. What have we told you about that? You should be making friends, not enemies. _Father…

My eyes opened. I couldn't sleep, especially now since I thought of my dead parents. This was the first time I had thought of them for a long time. It made me wonder what happened to the rest of the citizens back in the village. Were they caught? Were they slaughtered and fed to the dogs? Were they made slaves? I sat up again, my forehead sweating. I still felt extremely cold though. I wiped my forehead again, and took in another breath. I was just working myself up…yeah. That's it. Yesterday's events…it's just mentally exhausting.

I turned my body so my back was up against the thin tin walls. It felt extremely cold, but it felt nice against my hot skin. I tucked my good knee under my chin, and hugged it tight. All this thinking was making me depressed. Damn it.

I sighed, closing my eyes again.

"Zeref…."

"Nugh." I groaned.

"Zeref. Come up."

"What. The. _Fuck_…." Hands grabbed my shoulders, and shook me gently.

"Zeref come on. It's almost noon. I think you can get up."

My head snapped up, but in the process, I smacked the back of my head against the cold tin. "Oh, shit." I spat, pushing myself away from the wall. "What time did you say it was?"

Gray sat down next to me with a small plate with a sandwich on top. "It's noon. You slept all morning."

"Holy crap. Why didn't you wake me?"

Gray's eyes drifted to the floor. I could sense uneasiness from him. "Well, from the sound of it, you didn't go to sleep until an hour before everyone else woke up. I had to convince Erza to let you sleep. After what happened yesterday…" he trailed off, feeling even more depressed. I sighed, taking a bite of my lunch.

"Gray…it wasn't your fault." I said. Hopefully if I clarified, he would cheer up. It's something I could do for him. "I…I didn't mean to take it as far as I did. So don't go thinking everything is you fault."

A small smile cracked his lips and he nodded. "Yeah…" he muttered. In the silence, I finally noticed the familiar patter noise on the roof.

"It's raining again?" I commented, trying to break the uneasiness in the room. Gray instantly felt happier, looking towards the door.

"Nah, it just hasn't stopped from yesterday afternoon. Although it was pouring down heavy earlier this morning, so I doubt you would have been able to go outside without soaking your cast."

I took another large bite out of my sandwich before sighing once more. "Not like I'm any use to anyone currently. Do you know if the bastard is home?"

"Nah, both of them had to run into town for something. They said they would be gone until tomorrow evening. So we have to take care of everything as though they were still there."

I snickered, finishing up my food before struggling to stand. Gray instantly grabbed my arm and placed it over his shoulder for instant support. "Sorry, Master took your crutch this morning. Macao needed it for comparison. Is there somewhere you need to go?"

I couldn't help but shake my head a little. He was such a little lost puppy. "I need to go to the house to bathe." He nodded, and started leading me out the door, but he paused before stepping out. "What's wrong? Don't remember the way?" He removed his support for a second, and moved his hands to my forehead. "What the hell?"

"Zeref, you're burning. I think you're getting sick."

"There is no way in hell I can get sick. I haven't been sick in years." I spat, "now if you'll excuse me, I need to bathe. I smell like sweat and dirt." Gray took his position again, and we started out the door. Slowly Makarov appeared from around the corner of the barn with what seemed like both crutches in his hands.

"There you are Zeref. Awake I see."

"Yeah, well sleeping wasn't on my agenda last night apparently." I muttered.

"Well, here are your crutches. Try them out." Gray let go again, as I grabbed the sticks from the old man. They seemed to fit. "Try walking in them. You don't have to stand all the time." The man chuckled, turning back and headed off somewhere within the rain.

"Now we're talkin'." I said, moving the crutches in front of me. Slowly I pulled myself forward, practically swinging between the sticks before landing on my good foot. But, one of the sticks got stuck in the mud, and I wasn't able to pull it out in time to catch my balance. And, as I began to fall backwards, Gray caught me from behind. I growled my thanks as he straightened me up and pulled the stick from the mud.

He walked me all the way to the building, and I'm sure he would have followed me into the bathroom, if it weren't for someone yelling for his help. So he smiled and said he would be back to help again when he was done. I knew nothing was going to get through his big skull, so I muttered 'whatever' and was on my way inside. Lucy had to steal my crutches so they wouldn't track mud everywhere, and helped me up the stairs, which was a bitch. She already had the bath ready, and to my embarrassment, had to help me sit into the tub, but she didn't mind. She had to place a plastic wrap thing around the cast just in case it got wet, and I had to set my foot on the side of the tub. That put me in an awkward position in the tub, so she had to help me bathe. After I had enough of her _touching_ me, I forced myself out of the tub and her out of the room. She had left a pile of clean clothes, with what looked like a jacket.

I quickly changed and stepped out, only to be stopped by Lucy. "Zeref, hold still." She demanded.

"What the-" her hand slapped my forehead, and remained there for some time. "I keep telling you guys," I pulled her hand away, "I don't have a fever. I can't get sick, now give me my god damn crutches and I'll walk to the bunk house myself."

"At least eat something warm for my sake Zeref. Please?"

"To hell with that!" I barked, turning towards the stairs, using the wall as leverage.

"If you don't, I'm going to tell Erza you would _love_ for her to feed you." I froze. "She enjoyed it when she fed you breakfast, I wonder how she is when she feeds you hot soup?" I could imagine the little red haired devil with a cracked smile…with pointy teeth….and horns….with an evil laugh as she held out the spoon in front of me….It sent shivers up my spine.

"Ugh! Fine. Get me something warm damn it. But, I just ate a sandwich." Lucy looked confused for a moment before shrugging, grabbing my arm once again, and helped me towards the dining room. They had me sit at one end and eat a pretty good home-styled chicken soup. But, the place was an eerie sort of quite. The door suddenly slammed shut, and footsteps stormed through house. I could hear them go up the stairs, walk around a bit before heading down the stairs once more, and veer towards my direction.

"There you are. I was wondering where you went." Gray said happily, plopping himself next to me. He propped his cheek into his palm and smiled at me.

I growled, looking away. He could be so irritating sometimes. After a few minutes of me slurping my soup, I peeked at him from the corner of my eye. He still had that god damn sloppy grin on his face. "Gray?"

"Yeah?"

I turned back to my soup, "If you don't wipe that weird smile off your face, I'll do it for you."

He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, the swinging door that lead to the kitchen slammed open, and a fiery red head appeared. We both turned and watched as her gaze narrowed at Gray, and began to pop her knuckles "Gray Fullbuster. You did _not_ give your lunch to this boy…did you?" her voice was menacing. Even I flinched, and I'm the cruel one.

I could see Gray's face drain of all color but white as Erza shortened the distance between them.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry! He…he hadn't eaten!"

"So why didn't you just bring. Him. _Here_?" Her eyes were practically flinging daggers at the guy. She was one crazy bitch. "What have I told you about keeping your shirt on?" Gray glanced down and shrieked in horror.

"I'm sorry! It's a bad habit!" With a flash, she gripped the boy's arm, drug him out of the chair, and pinned it behind his back.

"Do you want to catch a cold! Huh? Do you want to die from malnourishment!"

"No! Erza, lady, sir!" Gray cried in pain. Erza's gaze shot down at me, and I instantly occupied myself with the soup.

She released Gray, making him stumble forward and knocking over his chair. She threw a finger towards my direction, "And _you._ If you don't take better care of yourself, you'll end up _dying_ from that cold of yours. Got it?" I nodded vigorously. She took a deep breath, and her face settled into a smile. "Good. Now, once you're done, you better rest up. Lucy will bring out some extra blankets for you tonight. Keep that jacket on, unless you really want me to sleep with you until you get better." I nodded again, and watched as left again. Gray stumbled up into his chair, breathing heavily.

"Damn…I thought I would lose my arm…" he muttered, running a hand through his hair as he leaned back in his seat.

"You're lucky that's all you would lose." I finished the last of my soup and we left out the door. "Are you sure you don't want a bath yourself? You're dirtier than I was." I commented, looking at his bare torso. His smile widened.

"I would have if I didn't have to go help Elfman in the barn. Now I'm not in the mood." I raised an eyebrow, but didn't question his sudden change of mind. Right now, I just wanted to get out of this depressing rain.

We made it to the bunk house, and I took my usual bed. Half the men were already back in the bunk; most were talking to each other, while others played cards on the floor. They even had brought in a pile of wood and had what looked like a small fire place burning. It was made up of old bricks that reached the ceiling, which rain was trickling in through. It wasn't much effective towards my end of the hall, but I wasn't going to move all the way down towards creeper corner where all the older _old_ men slept, like Makarov.

Gray had picked up a pack of cards and began playing a game called solitaire on one end of my bed. I had moved down to my pillow and began watching because of the lack of entertainment, and when I had moved my pillow, something unnaturally rustled. I paused, turning back to where my pillow was.

There, a small black handkerchief rested. It was flattened from the pillow, but it looked wrinkled and dirtied. I glanced over to Gray, but he didn't pay attention. Idiot. I picked up the bundle. It was a little heavier than a feather, and it crunched when I moved it. I slowly untied it, revealing what was inside.

Leaves. And bad smelling ones too. Half of them were crumpled, but all were dry. "Hey…idiot." I said, reaching over and tapping his shoulder.

"Yeah?" Of course the fool would answer.

"What the hell are these things?" I showed the bundle to Gray. His eyes widened a little, and his mouth was a gap. "What? Is someone growing weed?" I asked sarcastically. "If that's the case, you ain't getting any."

Gray shook his head. "No, these are medicinal herbs. I thought there weren't any left. Where did you find these?"

I shrugged. "They were under my pillow in this fabric. I didn't do the finding." He smiled, looking me in the eye.

"Well, whoever did find them, you should thank them! These things can easily cure a cold in a day or two."

"Wait, didn't you say these things can't be found? Why?"

Gray sighed, sitting back on the bed and rubbed the back of his head. "Gramps told us that there were none left growing on the safe side of the forest. Apparently when this farm just started, when Gramps was pretty young, there was a big sickness of sorts that killed nearly everyone at this place. Those herbs were used, but because of the danger on _that_ side of the forest, they could only be found here on this side. But eventually they died out along with the people. They tried growing these as crops, for emergencies, but they never did grow properly, and the master at the time didn't care what happened to his slaves."

"Wait, there was someone _else_ before the bastard?" Gray shrugged.

"That's what Gramps says. But who knows? I think he's senile as is, so it's hard to tell what stories are true and whatnot."

I turned my gaze back to the hanky. There was something odd about this fabric….no one else on the farm wore this color…it was bothering me of who would….

* * *

The rain finally died off late that afternoon, leaving everything muddy and disgusting, especially the men. But they didn't mind. They said they would have a bath tomorrow before the bastard and his bitch came back.

Erza had somehow made the herbs into tea, and I was forced to drink the horrible tasting liquid. But, I had refused to admit I immediately felt energized afterwards. I didn't want to boost the idiot's ego even more for being right. I had to drink it in the house, so then I was forced to eat dinner with Erza, Lucy and the rest of the staff. And, to make you even _more_ surprised. Gray was there. Sitting right next to me. Like a dog.

Stupid bastard.

I wanted to leave sooner, but Gray got caught up with the girl's gossip. His excuse was that the info should have been told to Makarov in the first place. It was apparently "important" gossip, as Gray put it. Ugh. Pussies. Gossip is gossip was my defense, but I was ignored again.

When I was dropped off on my bed, I pulled out the dark hanky that held the leaves. I looked about curiously. Gray was on his bed for the time being, the older men were busying themselves with games and the spread of the gossip from the main house. Curiously, I sniffed the fabric.

The obvious scent of medicinal herb was powerful, but I could smell something else…something…sweet. Again, it bothered me to no end. It was familiar, yet so distant…It was hard to describe.

"What are you doing?"

I looked up to see Gray's face practically an inch away from my own, his face turning scarlet from the blood rushing to his head.

"Wh-wh-what the hell!" I said, pushing his face away. I tossed the fabric on the ground next to the bed, and pushed myself so I lay parallel to the wall, my face towards it.

I could hear him chuckle. "What? I was just asking what you were doing."

"Just shut the fuck up porn star."

"I am _not_ a porn star."

"Tell that to your bare chest." He suddenly shrieked from his realization, and his mattress began to move once more. "Idiot." I muttered, closing my eyes.

I don't know how I did it…actually, I think it was the herbs, but I managed to fall asleep quickly, and soundly. I woke up the next morning, surprised to not see Gray sitting next to my bed, watching me like the creepy stalker he is. In fact only a few men were up, and a few were probably outside going to search for more wood. I tossed my legs over the side of the bed, and heard that familiar unnatural rustling sound. I looked down. There, the small little bundle sat on the ground under my good foot. I bent down, and picked it up, and unwrapped it. The same leaves from yesterday sat in my palm. I quickly placed them on the bed, grabbed my crutches, and quickly hobbled out onto the stiff mud. I quickly looked about. There was no one there.

It had to be him. It had to be Natsu. There could be no one else. It had to be….

But…why?

"Damn it!" I yelled, turning back to the bunk house to grab the leaves. I then headed to the main house.

I hobbled up the steps to the front door and threw both doors open, rushing into the kitchen. Erza sat elegantly as she drank her tea on top of the cabinet. She was completely surprised when she saw me barge in. I placed the leaves on the counter. "These herbs can't be found in the safe side, right?"

Erza slipped off of the counter and nodded, her composure perfect as always. "Yes, unless there was an abundance growing somewhere deep within the forest once again. This is probably quite possible."

"Does Natsu know how to read and write?" Again, she seemed surprised by my question.

"Yes. I taught him within three days. He knew only a few characters when he was first brought here." I smiled and nodded.

"Ok, then, would you make these into that tea again?" I asked over my shoulder as I left through the swinging door again. "I'll be right back. There's something I need to find."

I hurried through the house until I found Levy muttering to herself cleaning the sex room. She looked a little green though. "Why do I always get stuck cleaning the nasty things?" I heard her whine.

"Blue head! I need help." She slowly sat up and turned to me a little confused.

"Blue…head?"

"Yes, you. I need you to find something for me."

She nodded as she stood. "What is it?"

"I need a few sheets of paper and a couple of pencils, would you?" She smiled and raced out of the room. I think I just helped her escape her cleaning for the moment. I looked around the room. As if it was only yesterday, I remember my first terrifying experience in this room. The victim was Gray…

My writs began to throb from the memory. Watching his arm pop out of his socket from the incredible force Zancrow. That's when I realized I was brought here to be a sex slave…

So many men here have been scared by this bastard. So many people have been hurt, have cried, had nightmares…That bastard has to pay for those crimes.

"Here you are Milord." I turned to see Levy with a wide smile on her face, holding out a few large pieces of blank paper and a few sharpened pencil.

I sighed, and gave her a soft smile. "I'm not your master, so call me Zeref, please."

She blushed a little and nodded. "Ok, Zeref." She giggled a little. I took the things and patted her on the head.

"Thanks." I muttered before walking towards the door. I paused though, a sudden twist of my stomach made me turn around. She was still watching me, and she blushed even darker when she saw me look at her. "And…remember…when I first came here….when you forced to clean that car?"

She thought a moment and nodded. "Y-yes."

"I'm…sorry…about that…I don't like the smell of blood…" I admitted rather quietly. I quickly moved from the doorway, and headed downstairs. That twisted gut feeling left, and I surprisingly felt sort of…happy…

But…why? Why would apologizing for something so trivial as vomiting make me feel so…relieved? I sat down at the dining table and ran a hand through my hair. _You'll end up like Zancrow…_

Maybe…maybe that's why I apologized. "God damn it…"

"Watch your tongue." Erza snapped, placing the tea in front of me, along with the small fabric the herbs came in. "Now drink. It must take a lot of energy to waddle around the way you do with those crutches."

Erza….teasing? Ok, I think everyone including me, took some sort of drug.

* * *

I took my time drinking my tea, trying to think of what to write. Writing 'hello, this is Zeref, the guy you basically left for dead in the forest' wasn't a pleasing greeting. So finally I tore the paper in small squares and on one I wrote _Did you find the herbs for me? –Zeref_ on it, and gathered everything up, heading towards the bunk house. Everyone was awake by now, so I dropped off the extra paper on my bed. I placed my note and a spare blank sheet on the fabric, along with a pencil and tied them together inside the fabric. The pencil stuck out, but I didn't care at this point. I took my bundle and headed to the group of bushes I had spotted Natsu in once. I needed to find a spot I know he would find it. I finally decided on a low branch near the bushes that I know Natsu would notice, or hopefully would. I took one last look inside the forest before heading back to the bunk house. It was odd. Usually Gray was up and about, trying to find me.

"Hey, pornstar." I called out, sitting on my bed. "You awake?" I gathered my papers and my pencil and stuck them under my pillow so no one could see them.

I got no response.

I had a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach as I stood up. I struggled to stand on my bed with my good foot to peer up onto Gray's bed.

Gray was lying with his back towards me, and what little skin he had left exposed looked as pale as a ghost. "Gray? Are you ok?" I asked, poking him in the middle of his back. He suddenly rolled over, his eyes half lidded. He looked like a ghost. His hair looked darker compared with his skin, and he had dark circles around his eyes. He smiled at me.

"I guess I should have listened to Erza…I think I caught your fever…" he whispered.

"You caught _my_ fever? Holy shit boy, you take it up a notch." I reached over and placed a hand on his forehead. He was burning. "Shit, if I knew you were sick, I would have had you drink that tea instead." He grabbed my hand moved it to his cheek.

"You're…really cool…" he whispered as he closed his eyes. Heat flared my cheeks.

"Hey…why don't you move down to the bottom bunk?" I said, turning my gaze away.

"Why?...you're crippled…" I snapped my eyes towards him.

"So it's easier to take of you, you idiot!" I blurted out. I could feel my cheeks flare even hotter, so I snapped my head away. "It's…it's the least I can do…after all you've done for me." I peeked my gaze around to the boy. He was looking at me with kind eyes, his smile the usual stupid, Gray smile I knew.

"ok…" he slowly sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. I got down and stood in front of him. He slowly slid off the bed, but as he landed on the bed below, he collapsed, falling straight on top of me, crushing me under his weight and onto the floor. His breathing was heavy, and he was bloody hot.

"Gray? Are you ok? Holy shit you're surprisingly heavy." I attempted to roll him off of me, but he refused to let go of my shirt. "Gray, come on. We need to get you in bed." He didn't respond. Stupid bastard. I growled, not sure of what to do at this point. I looked around, but I saw no one else in the bunk house. "HEY! SOMEONE! HELP ME!" I shouted. I paused, trying to listen for some response. No one answered. "God damn it old men." I muttered. I sighed, trying to pry Gray's hands off of me. "Gray, I need you to let go of me. I need to get you in bed." His grip finally loosened, and he slowly rolled off of me. It was then I noticed he was shirtless again. Stripped of all but a battered, holey pare of underwear.

"ok, I need you to work with me Gray. If you can hear me, nod." I waited a moment, and suddenly he slowly nodded. "Good, I need you to sit up slowly, got it?" he nodded again, and took in a deep breath. He slowly sat up. I had some trouble trying to put his arm over my shoulder because I couldn't exactly bend my cast. But, I managed, and slowly stood. I managed to hobble over to the bed with him, and rolled him over into the middle of the bed. "God damn you're heavy." I muttered. I quickly grabbed a piece of paper from under my pillow and the pencil and scribbled _I need more herbs. A lot if you can –Zeref._ I placed the pencil back.

Gray looked so pathetic. I sighed, and grabbed an extra blanket that was placed on my bed by Lucy last night while I was sleeping, and covered the nudist.

"Don't try anything stupid. I'll be right back." I had to collect my crutches, and I hurried out of the door, and towards the bushes. "I can't believe I'm being so generous." I muttered to myself. "Two nice things in one day? I'm getting ahead of myself. There _is _something wrong with me."

I stopped at the bush, and looked for the low branch.

But…the bundle was gone.

I froze. This…this couldn't be…Natsu wouldn't have around here so soon…would he?

I crumpled the paper in my hand and tossed it into the woods. "DAMN IT!" I yelled, turning towards the main house. "God damn it all."

"Hey Zeref! How are you fe-"

"Not right now Elfman." I shouted, not caring which direction he was. "I'm completely pissed."

I could feel many eyes on me as I raced towards the house. I slammed the door open again, and raced towards the kitchen. Erza was busy running around the kitchen with Lucy preparing today's breakfast. "Erza! Where's the goddamn herbs!" I shouted, racing to her.

She stopped, her eyes piercing me, but she noticed right away it didn't work. "What's wrong?"

"That's not what I need! Where are the herbs? Are there any left?"

"Yes. But only a few, but you already-"

"Good, make that tea."

"You already had your cup!" she shouted, pointing a kitchen knife at me. "Too much too soon will make you sick."

"it's not for me! It's Gray!" Her face fell. "He's completely sick. He thinks he caught my fever, but his body is burning and with a high fever. I need you to make the tea as soon as you can."

"Already on it." Lucy piped up.

"If Gray is as bad as you say, he should be moved in here." Erza remarked.

"No. I don't trust the bastard and his bitch. If they touch him before he's healed, he could get worse, and if he's in here that chance rises. But, there has to be something that I can do for him…"

Erza thought for a moment, before heading towards the stove top. "I heard another person's body could bring down the temperature, but I'm not sure if that's entirely true."

"Really? Do you think so?"

She shrugged. "I'm not a doctor, so I wouldn't go trusting everything you hear. All we can do is give him the tea, and make sure he's at least consuming something." I nodded.

Lucy walked up to me and handed me a handkerchief. "What's this?"

"It's just bread. It would be something he could snack on until we prepare something better for him. Why don't you head out to him. We'll bring the tea when it's ready." I nodded, taking the bread with me.

Again, I earned a lot of stares as I rushed towards the bunk house. Gray had nestled himself on my bed, and was probably already back to sleep. I sighed, setting the bread next to the pillow. I sat down and ran a hand through my hair. "The things I'll do…"

It was quiet in the house. Even Gray's breathing had hushed.

It was…odd…it being so peaceful. It was like everything wanted to change. Like everything needed to change. Including me. But, why did I want to change? So people can like me? Psh. Yeah right. Like I'm concerned about what people think of me. I never did 2 months ago, and I don't need their opinions now.

"Zeref?" I slowly looked up to see Levy's wide smile as she stepped in with a cup. "The tea is ready." I nodded taking the cup from her. "How is he?" she asked, glancing down at the boy.

"He's sleeping at the moment. This sickness is really getting to him." She nodded.

"Well, Erza told me to tell you to make sure, once he's awake, that he drinks this, and eat a little bread. We ran out of the herbs as well. But, she's sending a few men out to search for them later."

"It's a waste of time." I spat.

"What? Why?"

I closed my eyes, "Only Natsu knows where they are, and I doubt that he'd show everyone where the herbs are grown."

"That may be true…but it's worth looking into." She stayed there a moment before heading out the door.

I looked down at the tea. It steamed in the cool air. To think, just this morning I had a cup of this to cure myself. But, now Gray needed it more than I did…if only I had known.

"Gray…hey. Wake up idiot." I said, shaking his arm. "Come on, drink this." He stirred, but remained asleep. "Damn it porn star. Wake up." He growled, but only rolled onto his side so he faced me. "GRAY!" I yelled.

Slowly his eyes cracked open. "Yeah?" he muttered.

"Drink this." I said, gesturing the cup. "it's the herb tea. Drink it."

"I…don't think I can…" he moaned.

"What. The. Hell. You can sit up and drink it." He shook his head.

"I don't want it. You drink it. You're still sick."

I set the cup down on the ground before crawling on top of Gray, gripping his wrists, forcing him to look up at me. "You are going to fucking drink this whether you like it or not. I already had some this morning. You're _sick_, like horribly. You're worse than me. If you didn't have your bad stripping habit, you wouldn't have gotten sick you bastard." Gray's eyes widened. "Now, you are going to get better by drinking this tea." He took in a sharp breath. "Now, you're going to drink the damn tea." He remained quiet for a while. It was pissing me off to no end "If you don't I won't acknowledge your presences anymore."

"You wouldn't…"

My eyebrows narrowed, "I would. I'm actually trying to _repay_ you for what you've done for me, and you won't accept my help. But, whether you do or not, I don't care. I'm going to help you, especially since you can hardly move you're so sick." I let go of his wrists and just sat there pinching the bridge of my nose. "You're a total idiot you know."

He chuckled. "Yeah…I know." I slowly got off, watching Gray struggling to sit up. "There. Now where's the tea?"

I reached down and handed him the tea. Slowly, he drank and as he drank a little more of his color returned to his skin. "There, feel better?"

He nodded, handing me the cup. "Yeah…thanks…" We sat there in silence for a while "Hey…Zeref?"

"Yeah?"

"…never mind….it's not important." I smacked the boy across the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"That's for being a dumbass. If you have something to say, just say it. What if I think it's important?" Gray's lips smoothed into a soft smile. "Well, whatever you freak. There's some bread in the bundle next to you. Erza said you should get something in your system." He nodded, reaching over and grabbing the hanky.

"Zeref?"

"What?"

"Thanks…you know…for taking care of me." I felt my cheeks heat again.

"Just eat your damn bread porno." He chuckled, taking a bite of the bread.

* * *

Gray fell back asleep after eating, so I began to wander outside since there wasn't any more rain. I would stop to watch the workers work until sweat poured down their backs, and mud caked their legs. I had climbed the fence that surrounded the pigs, watching Elfman clean the pen. When I got bored with that, I walked over and helped Lucy pick some veggies. Then, being bored of that, I decided to head to the barn. I sat in a corner close to the front door and watched as a few men were about doing Gray's chores for him. I guess it just wasn't the same without the annoying bastard around. I hated to admit, and I wouldn't out loud, that I missed his presences. God I hated myself for even thinking that.

I headed out of the barn, completely bored. As I headed towards the bunk house, I didn't really catch it, but I swore I saw a flash of something running into the forest.

My heart stopped.

Could it….have?...

I raced as fast as I could, keeping an eye on the forest as I continued towards the bunk. I stopped when I reached the doorway.

There on the floor was the familiar small black bundle that I had left on the tree.

My heart was racing, and I began shaking a little. But, why? God damn body. It's sending too many damn mixed signals.

But, I sat that idea away for the moment as I reached down and grabbed the bundle, plopping myself down on the bed. Gray was out cold, a little more color had returned to his skin, which I pleased to see. I slowly opened the bundle, letting the fabric fall to the sides.

There inside, was the small piece of paper I left in for him. My note was missing, and the pencil was chewed on by sharp looking teeth. I couldn't help but let a small smile grace my lips. This reminded me of school…I used to have a fan girl in my class…and she used to chew her pencils to the point they broke, but she always wrote in smooth letters how much she liked me. She never did actually talk to me, but she would always leave the note somewhere I would find it.

I shook my head. "Damn it! Stop thinking!" I told myself, face palming my forehead. "Damn…"

I reached down and unraveled the note.

**I wanted to help**

**I'm sorry I co**

**Would you like to see**

**Yes. I found the herbs. -Natsu **

Apparently he didn't know how to use the eraser, or make up his mind. I shook my head, folding the paper back up. Carefully I grabbed another piece of paper from under Gray's head, and wrote:_ Please meet me inside the barn an hour after the sun goes down. I want to talk with you –Zeref._

I placed another blank sheet with the pencil and tied it back up, heading back outside. I rushed over to the bush again, placing the bundle on the low branch. I knew he wouldn't grab it if someone was watching.

"Yo, Zeref! What the hell are you doing so close to the forest?" I turned to see Elfman, now shirtless and mud caked up to his knees with a shovel on his shoulder.

"It's nothing. I thought I saw a fox or something run by." I said as I turned towards him. "But, I guess it was only my imagination."

"Well, quite hallucinating. Be a man!"

"What the hell does being a man have to do with hallucinations?" I barked. I followed Elfman as he headed to the house for his bath. Might as well kill time and inform Erza on how he was feeling.

But something unsettling set into the pit of my stomach. I couldn't shake off the feeling, no matter what I tried. This feeling…it was telling me something horrible was going to happen.

* * *

**soooooo? I am actually up to date with the anime, so i get more feel for the characters. I'm trying i'm trying. I'm trying to get them back into character as much as I can for this story. I feel as though I'm a lliiiiiiiitttle off at some points. but i'm a Fairy Tail freak and love the characters. so i hope you enjoy this story!**


	8. I Am Not A Coward Like You

**Be My Slave  
By meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee**

**OH my goodness this took forever to upload! I meant to upload it sooner, but this chapter wasn't making me too happy . I actually rewrote this one several times. I know what I want do from this point, but this chapter is just that awkward transition, well at least it was for me. I wanted to do several things in this chapter, like a longer ZerefXNatsu moment buuuuuuuuuut I decided to cut it down a bit, and moving it to a different part in the story. **

**But I will tell you Natsu will be in the next chapter! and hopefully all chapters after this. I have a HORRIBLE habbit of drawing out the story. Usually the main couple isn't a couple for a looooooong time XD I guess that's just me for ya.**

**Any whooooo HAPPY HALLOWEEN! My gift to you!**

**And thanks for all the reviews! any comments, negative and positive, are welcome! Let me know what you think!**

**Chapter 8: I Am Not A Coward Like You**

* * *

After Elfman's bath, all the men came into the house spurting out cheers of joy. They knew they could easily get caught, but they broke out the ale took a swig and then passed it around like it was their last meal. Makarov was in unusual high spirits, telling stories of busty woman he had met before coming here, or some other geezer told "spooky" and crazy stories I knew weren't real, but the way he told them did send a chill or two down the spine. The even went crazy and knocked the table over, getting scolded by Erza. Poor Levy though, she got trapped under one of the rounder men as he collapsed from too much to drink. That is what ya get if you stand too close to a drunk. Idiot.

Time zipped by, an uneasy feeling settling over the men as the clock chimed 11. Makarov stood up on the table, dusting off his shirt. As if he could really get the beer stains out by just rubbing it a few times. "I believe it's time to get settled back in the bunk house men. Remember, no one can _ever_ speak a word about this. _No one_. Although enjoyable, we suffered hell the last time someone was overheard by Ultear. Come on, little boys need sleep." Suddenly the boy next to me gave a loud yawn, making the rest of the men laugh.

Everyone grew tense as they left the house. Zancrow could be lurking in the shadows for all we know.

The young boys, excluding myself, rushed out the door, some falling over tipsy due to the ale they were able to sneak a drink, but otherwise they rushed to bed without a word. The old men took their time, walking out of the beautiful house. The middle aged men continuously drank like there was no tomorrow, filling their glasses one last time, ale slopping down their arms as they struggled to walk straight to the bunk house. It was a rare occasion for the masters to be gone away from the home at the same time. And, according to everyone, they were never this late in returning. Something must have kept them.

I just hopped they didn't return to see the house in shambles. Erza tried to be comforting, telling me that the girls would clean it up in a snatch, but the smell of beer would take a while to air out, hopefully in time for Ultear.

I had snuck away from everyone, heading towards the bushes. I was relieved to see that the bundle was taken, so I assumed that it was in the bunk house just like earlier this afternoon.

I entered the house and saw that Gray was sitting up on the edge of the bed, still stripped of most of his clothes. "Damn it Gray, you're going to increase your fever if you don't at least cover yourself with a blanket or something." I complained, sitting down next to him.

But, he didn't respond. He was just a stone statue.

"Gray? What the hell is wrong with you? This isn't like you."

"Who is this from?" he asked quietly, handing out a note. I almost choked on my spit when I saw it was the small note and pencil.

"Where the hell did you find this?" I snatched the things from his hand and quickly opened it. _Ok, I'll be there_ was all it said.

"It was tossed at my head a few moments ago…." I huffed, folding the paper back up. "Who are you meeting?"

I stood and glanced out the door. The night covered most of the sky, and the stars were beginning to twinkle. "You don't need to worry about it Gray. Just go back to sleep. You need rest." With that, I settled back on the bed, and leaned back, staring up at the bunk above my head.

"Are you trying to escape? You won't get far tonight."

Ok, why did I ever say that I missed this bastard in the first place? He's annoying the _hell_ out of me. "Do you really think I'm going to break for it when I have a broken leg? Idiot." There was silence. The rest of the boys were probably already asleep.

"Well…can I come with you?"

"What the fuck? Why?"

"I'm worried about you being alone out there. I heard from the other boys that the masters aren't home yet…"

"And if you get caught, you'll probably be used as a sex toy, and in the state you're in, it would take you longer to heal both the wounds and your fever."

"Will you at least tell me who you're going to see?"

"None-ya." I replied, sitting up. "I'm outta here. I'll be back whenever." I stood, placing the crutches under my arms, I paused though, an unpleasing feeling settling in the pit of my stomach, "I should be back in a couple of hours. But, if something does happen to me, and I'm not back by midnight _do not_ go to find me. If you want to do something for me, stay here and heal. I'll be back." I didn't look back to see his face, nor did I want to. That idiot knows better than to act all stupid and childish. I'm fine. Stupid bastard.

Some sort of light flashed, catching my eye towards the house. I watched, pausing to see Erza filing all the girls on the front porch, whispering instructions to them with her gaze locked on the road. There were two bright headlights shining brightly through the thick trees, slowly making their way towards the house.

"oh shit." I was in between the bunk house, and the barn. If I were to go to the bunk house, I probably wouldn't have been able to meet Natsu, but if I were to head to the barn, I probably wouldn't be able to return to the house for a while.

I was just going to have to take that chance.

I rushed as fast as I could swing the crutches. The lights were slowly turning onto the house, then onto the barn and slowly over the trees. I was only a few feet away from the door, they only had to turn just so to see me. I reached out to the door, my heart pounding. _Shit! Make it! MAKE IT!_

It happened so slowly, I was sure that time about stopped. I was instantly blinded by two bright yellow lights, making me stop in my tracks. My heart took one huge beat, and froze. My skin began to prickle, and I began to shake. But I couldn't help but stare like a deer with my jaw hanging low in horror, and my hand still stretched out, just an inch away from the door handle.

I watched in fear as two car doors swung open, Ultear and Zancrow popped out their heads. From what I could see, Ultear looked pissed, and Zancrow looked hungry and horny. Whatever happened while they were away…must have put the bitch in a bad mood.

You know when they say when one door closes, another one opens? Well I was yanked through that door and stumbled inside. Literally. I had no idea what had happened to me…One moment I was frozen, the next I was pressed against a warm body. I couldn't see a thing because of the sudden lack of light, but I could feel the person embrace tightly me as it twisted, closing the door with loud bang. My face was pressed hard against a small torso. They smelt of pine and a familiar sweet scent I couldn't identify. Their arms tightened around me in an embrace…it felt…warm... "Zeref?" a quiet voice asked. I hadn't heard that voice in what felt like forever.

"Natsu?" I asked, gripping his tattered shirt. Of course I was blinded in the dark at the moment, and couldn't even see his clothes.

There were two soft thuds coming from outside the building. "I want that boy brought back into the house to be taught a lesson…he's not going to get away with this." Ultear's voice cut the silent air.

"Shit." I muttered, my heart beat racing even faster. Terror raced back into my skin the moment I realized what had happened. I ran away from them. I surely had it in for me now. "Natsu…we have to do something…." I said, pushing myself into the boy. I could hear their footsteps stomping on the hard ground. "Shit, Natsu, if they catch you-"

"I'll be alright…here." He pulled himself away, "Get on my back, hurry!"

"What the hell!"

"It looks like I'll get to play a little before bedtime after all…" Said Zancrow. His voice was husky. I could hear the lust behind every word. So many images popped into my head, all having to do with the torture he put the men through.

"You're not supposed to fuck him. That's master's orders you imbecile." Snarled Ultear. "But, I will_ not_ let that boy escape. I'm not going to get chewed for your screw ups."

"Hurry!" Natsu urged. Reluctantly, I reached down, feeling for his shoulders. The moment I wrapped my arms around his neck, he gripped my legs and went in a dead sprint towards the end of the barn.

"Wha!" I cried out, gripping him tighter. I almost fell off as he turned sharply towards Bob's stall. He quickly took a moment to lock the gate from the inside. He then turned towards the wall, where there the window was left open. There was a sudden loud boom as the front door was slammed open by one of the bastards. A moment later, Natsu launched us through the window. This all happened so suddenly, making my head turn, so I closed my eyes, reluctantly putting my life in his hands.

"There they go! Hurry Zancrow!"

"Shit, Natsu, they spotted us!" I said. I held on tighter. I didn't want to open my eyes. I didn't want to see if they were actually following or not.

"Don't worry, they won't find us." He told me. His voice sounded upbeat for one who was being chased down like a fox.

"Oh no, I'm sure they want to offer their greatest apologizes for the error of their ways." I remarked sarcastically.

"You think so?"

"No! Don't slow down you imbecile!" I could hear the thrashing of plant life as we ran past. I didn't want to know how fast we were going, but at this point I didn't care. I was listening behind us, to hear if they were really coming after us.

"ZANCROW! GET YOUR ASS MOVING!"

The sound was faint, but still audible: the sound of snapping branches and crushing of plants. He was coming. And zoning in on us fast. "Natsu! He's…he's coming!" I held tighter. My heart felt as though it was on fire, racing nonstop, beating faster and faster within my chest.

"He's not going to find us." He said reassuringly.

The noise was getting faster, and eventually I could hear the evil laughter of the hellish banshee following us. "Natsu, just leave me here. He doesn't know you're with me, you can escape!"

"No!" he shouted, taking a sharp turn left. "I'm not going to leave you behind. I'm not going to abandon a friend!"

I felt a loss of words and breath. "F-f-f-friend? I hardly know you!"

He chuckled, "So? I'd just have to get to know you! That's all."

"What…what if I don't want to be your friend?" Guilt racked my stomach…I was fine on my own. I had no friends, nor did I want any. Sure, I had acquaintances here, but apparently my definition and his definition of "friend" was completely off.

"Well then, I'll change it!" He said happily, turning another corner.

"COME OUT BITCHES!" Zancrow echoed throughout the thick woods. And from the sound of it, he was _extremely_ close by.

"Crap! He gained on us!" Natsu muttered. From the feel of his tense muscles, he too was afraid to be captured by the maniac. "Hold on! I'll get-AHHH!" He stumbled forward landing hard on his stomach, rolling along with me until we hit a large root in the ground about ten feet away. We were in the thick grass that pricked our skin. I attempted to sit up, but his grip on my legs remained strong.

"Natsu! He's coming! Get up!" I said, tapping his face. I opened my eyes, but it was still pitch black, and I could hardly even make out his Natsu's face. He groaned, quickly letting me go so he could climb onto his hands and knees.

"Come on! He'll find us!"

"But, Natsu-"

"I said get on!"

"I hear you little bitch….come out and play with ol' Zancrow why don't ya?" called out the bastard. If I had to estimate the distance now…I would have to say he was less than twenty yards away. And continuously closing the distance. I heard random crunching of trees, the constant chirping of frantic birds, and the constant rustling of the tree leaves. It was as though the forest itself was afraid of this wild beast. Natsu grabbed my arm and helped me stand. I could hardly processes the fact that we were about to die. I was so afraid and out of it. Only Natsu seemed to have the will to move forward, even after taking the fall practically for the both of us.

"come on! Get on!" he whispered, pulling my hands over the back of his shoulders. The moment I had the brain function to wrap them around his neck, we were off again. I didn't even know if Natsu was alright to even walk the way he fell, but he continued anyway.

"How can you even see!" I muttered into his ear. "You're practically asking to be killed! I can hardly even see my hand let alone the trees."

He again chuckled, shrugging the idea off. "I'm used to it. Now shhhh, or else he'll hear us!" I bit my lip, wanting to curse him out, but he was right. Zancrow was on our trail, and continuously hunting.

Natsu continued running for about another good 15 minutes, and within that time, I refused to open my eyes. He would chuckle now and then, or suddenly turn sharply, making my heart leap out of my chest. The wind began to pick up, deafening Zancrow's footsteps. I felt as though anything could trigger a heart attack at any moment. He could easily sneak up on us, yet again, we also had an advantage, using the noise as a cover. We just needed to make sure that luck was on our side.

He began to slow down until he made his final turn, and stopped. "We're safe. They won't find us here." He said.

"Are you sure?" I asked skeptically.

"Yeah…can't you hear?" he muttered.

"Hell no! I can't hear anything besides the trees you dumbass." I snapped. He chuckled, ducking his head as he took a few more steps. The wind suddenly became muffled, and the sound of crunching grass quieted Natsu's footsteps. He slowly lowered himself to his knees and slipped me off his back. I still held my grip, afraid of losing my only hope out of this god damn forest. My arms were lock tight around his neck, and I could feel his breath blowing across my face.

Slowly, he gently wrapped his arms around me, tucking his head into my neck. "I'm glad you're here Zeref…" he muttered.

"Why? We hardly know each other…" I whispered back. Slowly, I opened my eyes, surprised to see the moon shining through what looked like a straw hut. I pushed him back slowly, keeping my grip on him. "…where…are we?" I asked, astonished at the sight. To think, he actually lived in a place like _this_. I always pictured him in a crappy looking tree house. Natsu plopped next to me, his arms now wrapped around my waist. He chuckled.

"This is my house!" he stated proudly. "I live here!"

"Holy- UGH!" My back was slammed into the ground, and Natsu's head nudged into my arm, his own still gripping around my waist tightly. "What the fuck are you doing!" I cried out in surprise. Things were getting _awkward_. He let out a loud yawn, nudging my arm once more before giggling.

"We need sleep! We have a lot to do tomorrow." He said excitedly.

"And you have to sleep on me why…?"

"I used to do this with Igneel all the time." Before I could retort, his snoring rang loud in my ears.

"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me…."

I couldn't sleep though. It probably was the combination of Natsu's death grip, and the unsettling feeling that was beginning to form in the pit of my stomach. I sighed, beginning to shove his head away. God, it felt as heavy as lead. It wouldn't surprise me if it really was full of it. It took about 5 min, but I managed to shove him away. He continued his snoring happily. If only my leg was healed. I would have at least gone out the door a ways to piss by myself, but I didn't want to wake up sleeping beauty. "Shit…I guess I'll just wait until morning….damn it…" I muttered, taking in a deep breath, and eventually I fell asleep.

* * *

I woke up the next morning, feeling extra warmth next to me. Well, more like the extra weight on top of me. I slowly opened my eyes, and at first was completely lost. It wasn't the bunk bed I was staring at, but twigs and grasses of sorts. Something began to nudge my chest hard startling the shit out of me.

It was Natsu. His head was lying in the middle of my chest, his hands gripped the sides of my shirt and the rest of him covered me like a blanket. I was just about to yell at him for invading my space, _again_ but I thought better of it. Yet another gesture of my kindness, but it was bothering the shit out of me that my kindness was letting him droll all over me.

It had to be at least a half an hour after sunrise. I'm sure I was making everyone worry about me. But, if Gray were to shoot his ass out of bed to look for me….I would personally pummel him into a bloody little pulp. I'm sure he would at least ask around. I sighed. It's not like I'm _that_ important. But, still I hate to be the reason they all freak out. I sighed.

"God damn it…" I muttered, turning my head. My heart practically leaped out of my chest. There in the middle of the hut type thing, was something about a foot shorter than me in height, but it was covered by a large dark blanket. I could only stare at it, wondering what the hell this little boy was actually doing out here.

"…Zeref…."

"Yeah, what-" I looked back down at the boy, but he was only muttering to himself…this boy was getting weirder and weirder by the second.

I guess I waited at least another half an hour before the boy began to wake himself. He nudged my chest again before slowly blinking his eyes as he raised his head. He looked at me a few moments before he realized who I really was. The moment he did, he sat up so he was sitting on my crotch, his hands resting on my stomach, and the widest, goofiest smile was plastered to his face. He chuckled, his cheeks turning the color of his hair. "Good morning!" he greeted.

"Uh…good morning?"

"You're really here! That's totally cool! I thought I was dreaming!" he giggled to himself once more. "What do you want to do today!"

"Well, I would like to be able to sit up, if you don't mind." He looked down at his sitting position before he vigorously nodded. He slid off, sitting right next to me. "Now, would you care to explain what the fuck is sitting in the middle of your hut?" Natsu began to bounce in his seat before standing up and rushing to the opposite side of the thing so he could see me.

"This is a dragon egg!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. He pulled the blanket off swiftly before hugging the thing tightly.

My jaw dropped. It was a giant. Freaking. Egg. "Are you sure that thing hasn't _spoiled_ or something?"

He only chuckled. "If it spoiled, it would smell rotten." He hoisted the thing into his arms and brought it closer to me. He suddenly grabbed my hand, and placed it on the shell. It surprised me. I was expecting to feel something so cold and clammy, but instead, it felt warm. "I found it a few months ago…I think it's close to hatching!"

"What the fuck tells you that!"

"It moves a lot more now!" he chuckled, hugging the egg, "I can hear it too! Listen!"

I was reluctant, but I slowly pressed my ear to the egg shell. I couldn't hear anything at first, but slowly I knocked gently on the outside, and a second later, I felt it begin to move. It made my heart jump out of my chest. I don't know why though….maybe I was startled by the fact there was actual life inside this egg, or maybe…I was just that happy.

Natsu giggled, "he's saying hello!" I pulled my ear away from the egg and took a good look at it. It was a large white egg with blue flame type markings covering it randomly.

"And you think this is…a dragon?"

Natsu pulled away and nodded, "It has to be! Maybe it's Igneel's son! That would make us brothers!"

Ok, I was going to believe him until he lost me. Idiot.

I sighed, "I honestly am giving up on you." I muttered, staring down at the egg. What really was starting to freak me out, was the fact he was right; The egg was surely going to hatch, and if I had a guess, I would say within the week.

Natsu began running around the hut, laughing his merry little ass off before tumbling next to me still with that goofy smile on his face. "So, what do you want to do first! We could go fishing, or climb trees, or-"

"Natsu." His mouth froze, looking a little disappointed, "I need to go back. I can't stay here." I spoke slowly and clearly, "I can_not_ sit here all day while the others are out there. That bastard is looking for me. I need to go back."

His eyes instantly narrowed, shaking his head. "You can't go back! You'll be hurt! What if-"

"So what?" I exclaimed, growing pissed by the second, "If I'm not there, who knows what will happen to the others! If they pay for my mistakes, that makes me worse than shit." I struggled to stand, and began dusting myself off, "I'm not a coward. Besides, Zancrow hasn't touched me once, I doubt he would do it now." I swallowed those words hard. I could only hope that was the case.

His lips trembled and his eyes watered. Oh shit. "And what happens if you are!" Natsu yelled, standing up in the process, "You can't defend yourself! You're weak compared to him! You won't last!"

I swallowed hard. He was right. In a fight with the bastard, I would flat out lose, especially with a broken leg. Slowly I tightened my hands into fists, my body shaking with anger. "So?" I muttered, snapping my head towards him. "I would rather throw myself at him, than let others deal with my mistakes! They don't need to bare my sins!" Natsu's tears trickled down his cheeks as his eyes grew larger. "They might think that together they can get through anything, and they'll be there for each other, but unlike them, I can handle things on my own! I don't need some god damn gays to take the blame for me!" I shouted, my blood racing and my breaths short and heavy. "Unlike the rest of them, I'm strong! I'll handle things on my god damn own! I don't need sympathy, especially coming from someone who sits in the woods all day letting everyone else take your pain!" As swiftly, and carefully as I could, I stormed outside the hut, leaning against trees for support. "If you don't want to go back, fine. Rot in hell for all I care. But, I'm not going to let my pride crumble because I can't take a god damn punch for myself."

"Don't Zeref! You don't know-"

"I don't give a fuck Natsu!" I shouted. At this point my blood was boiling over. "I don't even care if Zancrow finds me! I don't want to rot here with a coward like you! Go burn in hell for all I care." And, with that, I continued through the thick plant life. I heard no feet behind me, nor did I even hear him move. I'm sure his gaze was either glued to my back, or hung low in shame. Well, whatever he did, he wasn't going to get any sympathy from me. That bastard deserved nothing.

* * *

I had no idea where I was heading. The trees were thick above my head so I couldn't tell which direction the sun lie, nor could I see the ground where a path would have been. I just wandered away from that moron, hoping I would get back to the hell hole. After what felt like an hour, I had stopped taking my breath. It was hard trying to walk with no crutches. I had several cuts on my good leg already from falling and slicing myself open. I cursed loudly, but that didn't help me any.

Eventually I had found a path. I recognized it from my first attempt in strolling in the forest to find Natsu. At least now I knew where I was going.

I sneaked up towards the entrance, glancing around the farm, hoping that _someone_ was out and about. I had noticed it was nearly late afternoon. It took me from breakfast, and maybe an hour or two past lunch to get here. Damn leg. Why couldn't someone else have the broken leg besides me? I grumbled to myself, keeping my gaze out for someone, anyone.

The familiar unsettling feeling grumbled and gnawed at my stomach. Something wasn't right here.

In fact there was nobody. The farm was empty.

The animals weren't out

Elfman wasn't yelling, "Be a man!" across the field.

No one was harvesting.

Nothing.

It was as if all people were abducted without a moment's notice. The place felt dead.

I slowly stood, cautiously limping out of the bushes. I kept an eye out on the house, hoping that no one would just suddenly burst out the front door with a sac to capture me. Especially Zancrow. I waddled over the bunk house and grabbed for the door knob.

It was locked.

I didn't even know this thing could lock….

I slowly backed away from the door, looking around for some answers. I slowly backed up towards the barn, slowly turning in circles, trying to find what was wrong. "Anyone?" I called out. No reply. I yelled it again, this time louder.

Nothing.

Suddenly I could hear the soft creaking of the porch door opening. I hobbled over to get a good glance at who was alive, when suddenly my heart stopped.

The bitch was standing on the front porch, dressed in a black halter top, and shiny black pants. Her boots were freakishly tall heeled, shining in the sun unscathed, similar to her pants. In her hand she held a long dark whip. Her sleek black hair was tied up in a ponytail with a red headband settled just above her bangs. She had a snarl on her lips as she glanced around the farm.

"Why are you so afraid….?" Asked a low growl. I froze, my stomach almost upturning when I recognized the rancid breath that blew down my neck and slowly moving to my ear. "If she found you, you wouldn't be shown any mercy…." I quickly turned around, my back pressed against the wall, all feeling and warmth leaving my body as I stared up inter two dark, piercing eyes. Blonde hair framed his menacing face as his smile grew wider. It was as though he was enjoying the fear I was radiating.

"I guess the same applies to me too." He leaned back, turning his face towards the sky, letting an evil laughter cut through the silent land. As soon as his mouth shut, he leaned back in, pulling something from behind his back. "Now, let's play!"

With a blur, he swung his arm around, and with a sharp pain in my ear, I was sent flying several feet before the pain overwhelmed me, and I was out.

* * *

**I know I cut the chapter short, but I don't want to go much further, since I want to have what's going down currently, in the next chapter. **

**But please leave your thoughts in the reviews! I'm interested in what you guys think of the story! I know this chapter is everywhere and not very thought out, but I'm currently SIIIIIIIIICK and am having a hard time concentrating, but I've been wanting to get this done for you guys!**

**Thanks so much! **

**Loki's Angel**


	9. Hear the Children Cry

**Be My Slave**

**By Me!**

**Hey you guys! Long time no chapter! XP I am SOOOOOOO sorry I hadn't posted this! I actually had the majority of this done exactly a month ago (on christmas XD ) but I just never got around to finishing it. I know this is a shorter chapter, and I personally am just jabbing myself for it, but since college has started, I haven't had actual time to sit down and type for longer than an hour. TWT and then I get distracted and...ya...**

**But, I have wonderful news! This story will be translated by ZerefMi into Russian! O3O oh my goodness! I did give permission to do so, so if you happen to run across it, and understand Russian, it's alright. XD lol. Thank you guys for all of your wonderful support! I know I said Natsu will be in the story more, and he will be! I just had to cut this chapter a little shorter than I wanted it to be due to time. Thank you guys for understanding! :3 :3 :3**

**For the next chapter, I will make it definitely longer to celebrate the fact it's the 10th chapter! Owo I know, I'm strange. But, don't expect it for a while. Again...*sigh* I should really just be shot.**

**But today is actually my birthday! (well in my timezone it still is) so I thought it would be the perfect time to give you guys this chapter! Since I'm actually here at home :3**

**Chapter 9: Hear the Children Cry**

* * *

Well, that wasn't the most _pleasant_ way to be greeted, and one I'd rather not suffer through it again.

* * *

_Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack._ The noise rippled through my raw ears like nails on a chalkboard. I could feel my blood pounding through my ears as I felt myself grow aware of my surroundings. I had trouble opening my eyes; it felt as though something was caked on them along with the left side of my face. I licked my lips in thirst. They stung and burned, and if I wasn't out of it, I probably would have realized that I had a nice fat lip. I groaned as I attempted to move in a comfortable position. The sudden clanking of metal rang through my ears, splitting my head even further in half. "God damn it…" I muttered, looking down.

I was fucking chained. I didn't think it was ever possible, I mean, I only had seen it in cartoons, but there was a real round, heavy, ball weight attached to my good ankle. "You got to be fucking kidding me…" My hands were held high above my head, also in tight chains, and from the feel of them, they had cut my wrists as they put them on me. I sighed, taking a look around me.

I recognized the room as one of the smaller guest bedrooms in the house. There was a window, but it had bars in it. There was a small bed with ratty sheets; an old dresser with a broken mirror with most of the pieces missing, and a small desk and chair. The air smelt musty and old. It was almost as if this room hadn't been used in years.

_Crack. Crack. Crack. _"Where the fuck is he?" I bit down on my tongue as the whip gnawed at my head.

"I…don't…AAHHHHHHHHHH!" the voice screamed bloody murder.

"Don't fuck with me boy! I know you saw him. I _know_ you men are hiding him. Now where the fuck is he!" the woman's voice grew louder with impatience.

"I told you…" the boy cried. I could hear the tears, the pain that the boy was currently suffering. "I don't know-GAHHHH!"

"That's enough Ultear…" The voice was loud and hungry. Zancrow didn't want Ultear to hurt his prey. It was _his_ toy after all. "I'm sure the stupid boy really _doesn't_ know where the boy lives…but on the other hand-" There was a sudden soft thud that echoed in the still air.

"**GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**!"

"-we better not take any chances…KEKEKEKEKE!" his laugh rippled throughout the house, ripping at the inside of my skull.

"Zancrow…look…you broke his arm…it doesn't look like he'll be able to work, you dumbass. It's this kind of labor that gets bread on our table."

"Don't worry Ul, I'll find another replacement soon enough."

There was a stiffening silence in the room. From the sound of the low murmur that followed, I assumed they were located in the room behind my back.

"God damn it…those sons of a bitch." I muttered, trying to grab a hold of the chains attached to my arms. If I could at least stand, I might have figured a better way out of this situation. "When I get out of here, they're going to wish…going…to…." As I pulled on the chains, my head began to grow light headed, making my vision quickly turn white, and my body eased back onto the floor. And, for a moment, I couldn't hear anything.

As my sight eased back, my body felt loose like Jell-O, and my breaths were small, but quick. "Damn it! I lost…too much blood…" I turned my head towards the window, my only source of light in this shit hole.

From the look of it, it was late, late afternoon; maybe an hour or two before sunset.

"Make sure he's properly treated before you release him back into that shit shed of his." There were many footsteps scampering around outside the room, one I could definitely tell was a pair of high heels. I assumed that was Ultear. The footsteps echoed and slowed until the stopped right in front of my door. "Open it."

"Yes, Milady." Chirped Levy. The doorknob screeched as it turned, hurting my ears once more. The door swung quietly on its hinges, and the blue hair bounced lightly into the room before stopping in front of me; a good distance stood in between us, and from the look of it, it seemed that's all the closer she wanted to be. I moved my head in her direction to see the reaction of the usual upbeat idiot. She was biting her bottom lip, her eyes wide with fear, and I could barely make out her trembling.

Ultear slowly stopped in front of her, her gaze looking down at me. A smug look. I fucking ugly look if you'd ask me. But, the ugly look fit her demented personality. "Levy, I want you to go run a hot bath for this imbecile here. I'd rather not interrogate a dirty looking boy like him at the moment. I think Romeo's arm was enough of a grotesque scene for one day."

"Yes Milady." And with that, she scampered out of the room, probably relieved she didn't have to face me anymore. Ultear began to approach me, her facial features slowly melting into a kind, motherly smile. She bent down on her knees, sincerity in her eyes. It made me sick just breathing the same air as this woman.

"I can't believe Zancrow went this far with you." She slowly reached out, placing it on my right cheek. I would have turned and bit her, but when I'm attached to a wall, I wasn't going to try. "That man is so cruel sometimes. Your pretty hair is just covered in blood. It's quite unfortunate that he caught you with, of all things, your own crutch…I told him just scaring you would have worked just fine, but he didn't listen…"

"Tsk," was all I managed as I turned my head away. She sighed, dropping her hand to her lap.

"Look, Zeref, I know that you've been through a lot this past week. A broken leg, being sick; it's just a little too much for an 8 year old boy if you ask me."

"I'm 10 dammit!" I snarled, my glare piercing her eyes. She only chuckled, and continued.

"10, I'm sorry. So I wish to have…a private talk with you, about a few things. If you cooperate, you can go back to your bunk house quietly and peacefully."

"If not, you're going to break my arm like Romeo?" I spat. There was a slight hesitation in her response, as if she was a little surprised that I was awake ten minutes ago.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

As I opened my mouth, Levy bounced back into the room, her eyes glued to the floor. "Milady, the bath is done."

Ultear gave one last smile before standing, "untie him and make sure he's properly cleaned and clothed. He will stay upstairs for this evening."

"Yes Milady." She muttered, stepping out of Ultear's way. Once the fucking insane woman was gone, Levy pulled a key from her pocket, and began to pick at the locks. "I'm sorry Zeref," she whispered as the first handcuff fell off.

"You're a moron for apologizing…idiot." I muttered as my arm just flopped into my lap. I saw that blood had trickled down to my elbow, and the cuts were still open and painful. Blood still oozed from them. As she removed the one at my ankle, I sighed with relief. "Holy shit... those hurt like none other…" The smell of blood was strong. I swayed a little, feeling that horrifying, nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach. If I had actually eaten anything in the last 24 hours, I'm pretty sure I would have vomited by now. I leaned my head back to take in the moldy air. It was much better than the smell of fucking blood.

"…Aren't you going to run?" she asked quietly, offering a hand.

I stared up at her with a stare of horror. "You _want_ me to die from a lack of blood? Besides I can't hobble properly with a broken foot. I wouldn't last five minutes you fucking idiot." She flinched from the insult, but continued helping me up anyway.

"S-s-sorry…usually that's what Natsu would do…but I guess you are different."

Anger swirled inside of me. I balled my left hand in fist, and smacked it against the wall as hard as I could. The action made me a little light headed, but I didn't care. At this point, I wished for the worst for that measly bastard. "Don't put me in the same category as that imbecile." I spat, attempting to take a step ahead. Levy managed to catch me in time before I landed face first onto the floor. She groaned from my weight, but other than that, she remained silent.

She undressed me and wrapped my now dirtied and bloodied cast before helping me slip into the warm water. She first scrubbed down my free leg, cleaning the scratches Natsu caused from his fucking biff in the forest. She then continued to my chest and back. She took extra care with my arms, especially my wrists. Lastly, she had to scrub my hair. "Um…Zeref…I'm going to have to have you lean over the bath tub when I wash your hair…it's matted with so much blood…I don't want you getting dirty again from it." I growled, but listened anyway, leaning to the side of the tub. There was a long metal tub and a small bucket next to her, along with a few towels on the floor. She first poured the hot water slowly, avoiding the blow to the head I had suffered. Then, with gentle hands, she began rinsing and dabbing the injury. Hurt like a mother fucker, and I even pulled away several times, but she was patient and waited for me settle my stomach.

It must have taken about 20 minutes to wash my hair, but from what I could see, all the soap bubbles that dripped into my line of sight, were dark red. The smell was overwhelming, and at random times I began gagging it was horrifying. She offered her bucket every time she saw me, but I found it useless. There was a good enough tub below me that would have done just fine.

She carefully rinsed a few more times and dressed me. You would think it would be embarrassing for a girl to dress me. But, when I attempted myself, I fell flat on my ass on the floor, light headed. She smiled and carried on like the little upbeat bitch she is. I couldn't help be feel sorry for her. First being stuck with cleaning my vomit when I first arrived, and now she's stuck cleaning my blood. She's a stupid girl if you ask me.

"Are you feeling ok? Do you want some water or something to eat?"

I shook my head slowly, gently pressing a palm against my skull. There was a moment of silence. "…how…how is he?"

"How's who?"

"How's that fucking sick moron?"

Levy chuckled. "Gray's doing fine now. He's up and about. It's not completely gone, but he did just fine without the herbs you went to get." I bit my tongue when it hit me.

"Shit!"

"What now? Are you going to throw up?" she asked panicked, racing for the bucket.

"No you idiot. I forgot to grab the herbs while I was there…I just…nevermind…well it's good that he's better…" I began trailing off, my mind racing back in time…

The only reason I was there in the first place, was because of Natsu. He gave me the herbs. I was curious about him and wanted to meet him in person…why didn't I just ask him to _bring_ the herbs with him, that way I wasn't drug around everywhere, and I would be just whipped instead of missing half my blood with a gash in the side of my head. "…damn it I'm stupid…" I muttered.

"Is he ready?" called out Ultear. I snapped my head towards the door, completely unaware that she had walked upstairs.

"Yes…but I'm afraid he's going to need stitches Milady. His wound…it's pretty big…"

Ultear stepped in towards me. "Really?" she asked. I could sense the presence of a sarcastic concern, "Show me." Levy tilted my head, and moved my hair out of the way. I heard her gasp a little, whether it was sarcastic or real, it was hard to say. "I'll have Lucy call the doctor for first thing in the morning. Hmph…I was going to let Zancrow play with you a little tonight, but Master will be pissed if he finds out his favorite tool is dead."

"I'm a fucking _what?_" I choked, shoving my face in Ultear's. She suddenly grasped my cheeks with a hand, tightening her grip by the second.

"You became Master's tool the moment you were captured, _little boy_." Her eyes narrowed with her dark eyes shooting daggers, "If you dare speak ill of him or refuse his aid, I swear I will hunt you down and dismember you myself. Do I make myself clear?..." She shoved me back so far, I fell off the little stool I was sitting on and fell flat on my back. I struggled to sit up without the aid of Levy, who was at the moment, too terrified to even move. "I have been graced with the chance to sharpen Master's favorite tool into one of discipline and skill." She continued, her face now smooth and her voice even, giving no trace of the malice it just harbored, "One week." She began pacing in front of me.

"What? One week? For what?" I exclaimed, struggling, once again, to sit on my stool.

"In one week you begin your training. It was originally left to Zancrow, but since he has a fetish for little boys, he's useless. From now on, you are _mine_. You will do as _I_ say, and you will do as you are told, word for word. If you do not comply, you will suffer more pain than Zancrow's practice swing. After the week you will remain in this house until I give you permission. If not followed, fifty lashes on your legs will be your punishment. For the next week, you will work in the field doing labor."

"What about my blood? You don't expect me to work in my current condition, do you?"

She paused, a smirk on her face. "Of course not, of course not. Tomorrow, the doctor will give you a transfusion and give you stitches. The day following, in the afternoon you will begin working again. That should be plenty of time for your blood to rush through your veins." She began walking towards the door. "Oh, yes, Levy, have the boy eat dinner. I'll interrogate him at 8 sharp. I want to meet him in the den before then. And, have one of the other girls to clean that nasty room he was in. It smells like his dirty little blood."

"Y-y-yes Milady." Levy bowed silently. Once her footsteps were far in the distance Levy began to spring to life. She hurried along and cleaned up the bathroom, draining the dirty water and dumping the bloody tub in the tub as well. She sighed wiping her brow. She quickly came to my aid and helped me stand. "We better feed you soon." She muttered as she led me to the stairs.

She almost fell several times do to my weight. But, I can't help it if I'm lacking blood.

Levy had trouble setting me down in my chair in the dining room. It was annoying how she was constantly apologizing for every little mistake. Then, she would apologize more for apologizing too much. I just whacked her upside the head. "Idiot." I spat, "Go get me food." She rubbed her head gently before straightening up.

"Yes sir." She growled before scampering off. I gently pressed my forehead to the edge of the wood table, taking in deep breaths. My vision was going in and out once again, making me feel lighter than normal.

"Dammit," I muttered. I gently pressed my palm against the side of my head. I could feel the broken skin underneath my hair. I turned my head so my right side pressed against the table to see my hand. It was light, but I could see blood. I could barely even smell it. I tried wiping it off on my pants, but the thought of it possibly still there on my hand began to gnaw at me. My skin began to crawl. I began to break out in sweat, and I could feel heat beginning to rise to my cheeks. I went to press my left hand to my cheek to see if my face felt warm, but I could see it. I could still fucking see the blood that remained.

My eyes snapped open wide, and I quickly sat up, my heart racing, my chest restricting. I pushed away from the table, my panting growing faster as my anxiety increased. I tried to wipe it off again on my pants, but it did no help. I could see the blood on the fabric.

"Zeref! Dinner-"

"GEEEEEEET IT OOOOOOOFFFF!" I screamed. I scrambled to stand, tearing at my pants to pull them off. I lost my balance in the swift motion. My head began to spin as I suddenly collapsed to my knees.

"What the hell is going on!" Erza yelled, thrusting open the kitchen door. I gripped my chest, trying to stay focused. I wasn't going to pass out here. Not in front of them.

I suddenly couldn't control my motions. All I knew was my vision was fading into white, and my hearing turned mute. The image of blood was still etched into my brain as I became completely wiped out.

* * *

**I told you it's short, but as I promised, the next chapter will be very long! I wish to update my other Fairy Tail story as well. Although, like this one, it tends to avoid the main couple. I have a HORRIBLE habit of it. I do it with the short stories I write to myself all the freaking time. I don't know why. Maybe it draws suspense? No, just anger XD lol. Well, please leave your thoughts! I love encouraging comments, and I do appreciate critiques as well! Thank you all for following my story! **


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